Contract teachers set afire vehicles after cop lathicharge

PATNA: Police had to resort to lathicharge and burst teargas shells to disperse a huge mob of teachers on contract, who were on way to gherao the legislative assembly to press for fulfilment of their demand for pay on a par with regular government teachers, near R-Block on Tuesday. The fleeing agitators torched two police jeeps and a BSRTC bus, and later announced they would go on indefinite strike from March 6.
Earlier, the teachers took out a protest rally from the Gandhi Maidan, raising slogans against the government for flatly rejecting their demands. "Thousands of protesting teachers came to Patna from all the 38 districts. We did not intervene till they turned violent and attacked the policemen at R-Block where they were stopped from proceeding further towards the legislative assembly," Patna district magistrate N Saravana Kumar said.
According to him, the agitators pelted the policemen with bricks and stones for more than half an hour. At least 20 policemen had to be rushed to hospital. "It was only then that the police swung into action," the DM said and added the violent agitators also damaged two private vehicles.
Patna range DIG Sunil Kumar said after the agitating teachers turned violent, some outsiders also joined them and indulged in violence. "We are collecting video footage to identify the culprits. We have arrested 60-odd agitators," he said.
Patna SSP Amrit Raj said vehicular traffic in the city came to a grinding halt in several parts of the city till 12 noon due to the procession of the agitating teachers. They blocked the Dak Bungalow crossing for over two hours before proceeding towards the railway station.
Furious at the police action against them, the teachers have decided to go on indefinite strike from March 6. "We had originally planned to protest in Patna for two days. But now we will gherao the offices of district education officers in every district on Wednesday," said Keshav Kumar, general secretary of the contractual teachers' association.
Patnaites had a harrowing time as they sweat buckets in their vehicles, hundreds of them, stranded on Exhibition Road, S P Verma Road, Kargil Chowk, Station Road and Bailey Road. Schoolchildren were the worst hit as many school buses were also caught in the snarls.
12 noon: Rally of contract teachers starts from Gandhi Maidan
12 noon to 2.30pm: Agitating teachers block Dak Bungalow crossing
3.15pm: Agitators reach R-Block, pelt cops with stones
3.50pm: Police resort to lathicharge, burst teargas shells
4pm: Fleeing mob sets afire a police jeep near R-Block flyover and another police jeep and a bus near Patna Jn