Five hurt in clash between ML, farmers

BETTIAH: Five persons, including a woman, were injured in an exchange of fire between CPI(ML) activists and farmers at Mahuwa village under Shikarpur police station, 40 km from here, early on Saturday.
The violence was reportedly triggered over the issue of payment of minimum wages to Dalit labourers in the paddy plantation work underway.
Local sources said that the farmers backtracked from the ML negotiated agreement to enhance the prevailing 5 kg grain to 8 kg for a day’s work.The labourers had stopped working in the fields for the past two days.
Farmers reached the Dalit locality to call labourers to work. An argument with ML workers over the payment of wages ensued and ML workers opened fire injuring Anisur Rahman and Sheikh Ekbali. Villagers rushed to the spot and opened fire.