File Photo: RJD Chief Lalu Prasad
RJD President Lalu Prasad and several of his supporters were arrested in Patna on Monday while trying to enforce the day-long Bihar bandh called by his party as the shutdown adversely affected life across the state.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vikas Vaibhav said, "Lalu Prasad has been arrested along with his supporters while enforcing bandh. He has been taken to the camp jail of Bihar Military Police - 5 located on the outskirts of Patna.
He might be given bail if the sections imposed are bailable ones."
An FIR has been registered against Lalu Prasad at Kotwali police station under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty, 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 431 (mischief by injury to public road), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation).
The bandh disrupted normal life as few trains were halted by lathi-wielding mobs, which also forced few shops and educational institutions to shut operations.
The working of the Patna High Court was also hit.
Officials said several judges got delayed in reaching the High Court due to the bandh and wanted to know if the state government was supporting it.
They also questioned the security preparedness of the state government.
Earlier, Mr Prasad had come out from his residence riding a 'tamtam' or 'tonga' (a single-horse drawn carriage) draped with his party colours and symbol.
He and his hundreds of supporters then proceeded towards Dak Bungalow crossing, the nerve centre of city traffic, enforcing bandh all the way.
"Our motive is to demand caste census data and remove BJP from power. 'BJP hatao, desh bachao' (Remove BJP, save the country) because it is 'Bharat Jalao Party'. The bandh is a huge success. I have never seen this type of bandh in my life except during the JP movement," Mr Prasad said.
The RJD chief denied any untoward incident by his party workers anywhere in the state and asserted that "youths have punctured BJP".
He also gave the call to remove Narendra Modi from the post of Prime Minister.
Officials said shops remained shut, colleges and educational institutions were forced to close down, roads including national highways were blocked and vehicles were attacked during the shut-down called by RJD.
Hordes of RJD supporters armed with sticks and canes were seen burning tyres and bamboos at busy thoroughfares in the state capital. They also disrupted classes and forcibly closed colleges affiliated to Patna University, officials said.
East Central Railway (ECR) CPRO Arvind Kumar Rajak said, "Reports about bandh supporters disturbing the rail services are coming in from few places in the state."
Rajak added that there were reports about disruption of railway services on Darbhanga-Sitamarhi section near Kamtaul railway station in Darbhanga district.
The Patna-Ranchi Janshatabdi Express was stopped at Jehanabad station while Hatia-Islampur Express was halted near Daniyawan in Patna district.
RJD workers squatted on rail tracks in Shiekhpura and Madhepura hampering movement of trains. Though Lalu Prasad, while giving the call for Bihar bandh a few days ago, had asked his supporters not to disturb trains while enforcing it, his plea apparently fell on deaf ears.
The bandh has been supported by the ruling JD(U) and Samajwadi Party (SP) as their workers too joined in enforcing it at a few places in the state capital.
Office-goers in Patna were forcibly sent back. Vehicles plying on the roads including cars, auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws were damaged and their tyres deflated.
The car of one Mukesh Kumar Singh, a Disaster Management Department (DMD) official, was damaged by some men while he was rushing to his office.
Elsewhere in the districts, National Highways 31, 83 and 110 were blocked at several places, official reports from districts said.
Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Gopalgunj, Arwal, Sheohar, East Champaran, Purnia, Katihar, Araria, Kishangaj, Gaya bore the brunt of the day-long bandh, reports said.
RJD legislators and former ministers led party workers during the bandh. In the state capital, the RJD members were led by state president Ram Chandra Purve.
Carrying flags with RJD symbols and banners demanding release of caste census figures, they raised slogans against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
While marching with partymen, Purve said, "Bihar bandh is total. There is massive response to our demand for release of caste census and the public has supported it across state."
He warned that if the figures were not released even after this, they will intensify the movement. "This is the second war of Independence for Dalits, downtrodden and poor," he said.
Purve denied any involvement of RJD workers in hooliganism on roads during the bandh and alleged that it could be the handiwork of BJP workers to show RJD in poor light.