Last Updated:
During the Bharat Bandh in Gopalganj, some protesters stopped the school bus and attempted to set it on fire. (Image: X/IANS)
At first, some protesters were seen stopping the bus. But as soon as some of them saw a burning tyre under the bus, they were seen clearing the road to make the way for the bus to pass
A school bus with children on board narrowly escaped a fatal accident in Bihar’s Gopalganj on Wednesday as it crossed the area where protesting mob burnt several tyres on the road during the Bharat Bandh called by some groups against a recent Supreme Court order on reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
As per the visuals shared by news agency IANS, the yellow school bus was surrounded by a mob armed with sticks.
At first, some protesters were seen stopping the bus. But as soon as some of them saw a burning tyre under the bus, they were seen clearing the road to make the way for the bus to pass. A man, part of the mob, was also seen pulling out a burning tyre right under the bus.
Bihar: During the Bharat Bandh in Gopalganj, agitators set fire at Arar More in the city.During this, when a school bus full of children passed by, some protesters stopped the bus and attempted to set it on fire pic.twitter.com/DVYxIHIIzy
— IANS (@ians_india) August 21, 2024
Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhat said that a high alert was issued and a large police force and magistrates were deployed at various locations in the town over the Bharat Bandh call, reported NDTV.
Earlier in the day, the police resorted to lathi-charge on people in Patna as they staged a protest in support of a day-long Bharat Bandh against the Supreme Court’s recent judgment on reservations.
The daylong nationwide strike called by some Dalit and Adivasi groups against the Supreme Court’s verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes affected normal life in Bihar and Jharkhand as well as tribal areas of various states.
Police baton-charged and used water cannons on protesters in several districts of Bihar, including Patna, Dharbhanga and Begusarai, to remove rail and road blockades, while in Jharkhand and Odisha public transport services were partially affected.
Twenty-one organisations across the country had called for the Bharat Bandh against the apex court’s order, which they said would harm the basic principles of reservation. The protesters put up rail and road blockades in several districts of Bihar, and police used batons and water cannons to disperse them. Darbhanga and Buxar witnessed disruption in train services while traffic was blocked in Patna, Hajipur, Darbhanga, Jehanabad, and Begusarai districts.
(With PTI inputs)