Bihar: Newborn child dies during Bharat Bandh protests

The death toll in the Bharat Bandh violence has reached six.

Bharat Bandh protest in Muzaffarnagar/ Image: ANI

New Delhi: A newborn baby died in Vaishali district of Bihar on Monday due to the ongoing agitation as a part of the  nationwide shutdown called by several dalit outfits. According to reports the child was being taken to hospital for seeking medical assistance, but it died on the way to Sadar hospital from Mehnar PHC in Hajipur (the district headquarters of Vaishali), after the ambulance carrying the infant got stuck in the jam due to the shutdown. The child could not survive the delay and died before reaching Sadar hospital . As many as 19 districts of Bihar are gripped by intense protests over Supreme Court's verdict regarding SC/SC (Prevention of atrocities) Act. . So far, six people have been reported dead from the violence that erupted during the nation-wide protests, affecting 14 Indian states. The protest took a violent turn in Madhya Pardesh and Rajasthan leading to loss of lives in the states. Vehicles have been torched, shops set ablaze and massive violence has taken place. The Supreme Court on March 20 diluted the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bonafide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the Act. The apex court said government servants should not be arrested without prior sanction and private citizens too should be arrested only after an inquiry under the law. But Dalit organisations, including the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, and some political parties fear the dilution of the provisions might lead to increase in violence against Dalits. The government on Monday filed a review petition before the Supreme Court, challenging its order banning automatic arrest and registration of cases for alleged harassment of SCs and STs.