Thaindian News

Patna, Jan 28 (IANS) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi were arrested along with dozens of party leaders in Bihar capital Patna Thursday during a dawn-to-dusk state-wide shutdown to protest rising prices of essential items. Normal life came to a halt across the state due to the bandh, which evoked a total response.
Rabri Devi was first arrested followed by Lalu Prasad, along with dozens of party leaders and hundreds of party workers at the busy Dak-Bungalow when they blocked roads.

RJD leader Shakil Ahmad Khan told IANS: “Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, along with RJD parliamentarian and former minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and several party legislators, took out a march on the main roads to protest rising prices during the bandh.”

Police officials said Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad and other RJD leaders and party workers were arrested for blocking roads and disrupting normal traffic. “They have been taken to a place and will be released in the evening,” a police official said.

According to reports from different districts, more than 500 workers and leaders of the RJD have been arrested during the shutdown.

Police arrested RJD workers and leaders in Patna, Nalanda, Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Madhepura, Chapra, and other districts during the shutdown “for disrupting normal life during bandh.”

The RJD’s shutdown evoked a total response with thousands of party workers blocking highways, rail tracks and bridges. Roads in Patna, Gaya, Nawada and other major towns in the state were deserted. Only a few private vehicles were seen.

RJD supporters blocked Mahatma Gandhi Setu, a bridge over the Ganges in Patna that connects south Bihar to the north.

Party workers targeted trains at several places, including Jehanabad, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Hajipur railway stations. Dozens of RJD workers were arrested in Nalanda district for taking out a protest march.

The shutdown was supported by RJD’s ally Lok Janshakti Party and the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist and Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist.

In view of the shutdown, most schools in Patna had decided to stay closed.

Lalu Prasad Wednesday appealed to the people, particularly businessmen, to support the shutdown.

The state administration have deployed extra security forces in Patna and other district headquarters to deal with the situation.