Jamshedpur, Nov. 25: JMM and opposition parties supported Jharkhand Bandh against the CNT SPT Act Amendment Bill 2016 that was passed in Jharkhand assembly’s ongoing winter session on Wednesday received mixed response.
Though the bandh supporters and police forces clashed at different places like Sakchi, Mango and Bistupur but over all the bandh was peaceful. A total of 1245 supporters were detained.
The bandh supporters resorted to arsoning and vandalism, posing hurdles for commuters on the state highways. Supporters burnt a truck near Pipla on NH 33.
Congress district president Vijay Khan who led protest at Sakchi said that the government has crossed the Laxman Rekha and tampered with the rights of adivasis and moolvasis without any discussion. Despite being in majority, the government used force to pass the bill unconstitutionally. The government’s efforts to fiddle with the interests of the people has been replied with a state wide bandh.
East Singhbhum senior SP, Anoop T Mathew who was on strict vigil led the police personnel to take about 70 bandh supporters into custody.
“Though the bandh supporters tried to take law in their hand but all of them were arrested,” said Mathew confirming the torching of vehicles at NH 33.
At Dhalbhumgarh in Ghatshila sub-division which also falls under East Singhbhum district, the JMM activists had resorted to ransacking the shops as the shop-keepers defy the bandh call.
Seraikela-Kharsawan district remained incident free where the police made preventive arrest, including that of JMM’s vice-president and Seraikela MLA, Champai Soren.
JMM vice-president Champai Soren who was under house-arrest at his village claimed today’s call for Kolhan bandh in protest against the Raghubar Das-led NDA government’s policy was complete success.
He claimed out that about 40,000 JMM supporters across the Kolhan were supposed to stage a demonstration in the steel city today, but due to the heavy deployment of police force and setting up of over a dozen barricades, the people could not go inside the city.
West Singhbhum SP also informed that no violence took place in his district during the Kolhan bandh today.