Patna: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Bihar’s Sarsaram district has been cancelled as the state government has imposed section 144 in the area following violence on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Shah was scheduled to arrive in Patna on Saturday evening for a two-day visit to Bihar, where he was supposed to address rallies in two districts on Sunday.
“Union Home minister Amit Shah was supposed to come to Sasaram for an event. As Bihar govt imposed Sec 144 we have to cancel the event. How can we hold an event like this?” said Bihar BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary said reporters.
Section 144 imposed in Sasaram and Nalanda
Notably, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Manoj Kumar ordered imposition of Section 144 on Friday afternoon in Sasaram after re-eruption of clashes, which first broke out the previous evening.
"Several shops and vehicles have been torched or vandalized in areas like Shahajalal Pir, Sona Patti, Qadir Ganj and Navratna Pir where angry mobs also indulged in heavy stone-pelting, injuring many people, including two police personnel," said the SDM.
After the clash between the two groups become violent in Nalanda which left 14 injured, the administration imposed Section 144 CrPC across the city as a preventive measure. The internet services internet services have been suspended.
45 people arrested
Meanwhile, the Bihar Police have arrested a total of 45 people in connection the clash in Sasaram and Nalanda, the state police headquarters said on Saturday. Of which 18 people have been arrested in Sasaram, where the programme of Union Home was planned. While in Bihar Sharif, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home district Nalanda is headquartered, 27 people have been arrested.
In a statement, the PHQ also asserted that "normalcy has been restored" in both the places though senior officers were camping in the affected areas by way of caution and heavy deployment of forces continued.
(With agencies input)
