Title - CPI(ML) bandh evokes mixed response in Bihar

PATNA: The day-long Bihar bandh call given by the CPI(ML) on Thursday evoked mixed response in different parts of the state. The bandh was called in support of the demand for action against the Aurangabad DM and SP for a recent lathicharge on demonstrators and a CBI probe into the murder of mukhiya Chhotu Singh Kushwaha. The bandh was peaceful in the state, by and large, except for the incident of breaking of windowpanes in Gopalganj civil court by the ML supporters.Gopalganj SP Nitasha Gudia said an FIR against 50 ML activists had been lodged with the Town police station in this connection.Meanwhile, Gopalganj District Bar Association general secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said about 100 ML activists entered the civil court premises demanding closure of the court to mark the bandh. He said that all the courts were functioning at that time. Pathak said that the ML activists broke the windowpanes of court rooms of ADJ-1, ADJ-2, ADJ-3, ADJ-4, ACJM and additional munsif-2. He said the court's registrar has lodged a written complaint with the police station concerned. Senior administrative officials and Gudia also reached the court premises after the incident.While the bandh call had good response in Jehanabad, Arwal, Aurangabad and Bhojpur districts, it had virtually no impact in the state capital where hundreds of party workers, led by ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, were arrested by the police when they were trying to disrupt traffic at Dak Bungalow roundabout. The workers were detained for over an hour at the Kotwali police station.Shops, business establishments, schools, banks and all government offices remained opened in the state capital and reported normal functioning on the day.According to reports reaching here from different districts, the ML workers mainly targeted the railways to register their protest. The party workers, holding banners and placards in their hands, squatted on the railway tracks and disrupted movement of some express/mail trains at different railway stations. While the Purva Express was stopped at Ara railway station, Sampark Kranti was stopped at Darbhanga, Shramjivi Express at Biharsharif and Vaishali Express at Samastipur railway station.However, East Central Railway (ECR) public relations officer Neeraj Ambastha claimed that the bandh did not have any impact on railway services and the trains were running as usual.The bandh supporters also disrupted vehicular traffic at different places by blocking national and state highways. They blocked the GT Road at Barachatti, Ara-Mohania NH-30 at Isarhi village, Barhi-Biharsharif NH-31 at Nawada and NH-98 at Arwal, Kaler and Obera for a few hours, according to a press release from ML.