Bihar: BJP Claims Its Leader Died During Lathi Charge Amid Protests In Patna, Govt Denies

BJP workers held a protest march to the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday against the Bihar government over the issue of the posting of teachers in the state.

New Delhi: The death of a Bihar BJP leader due to alleged lathi charge during the party’s protest against the Nitish Kumar government's teacher recruitment policy has stoked a controversy on Thursday, news agency PTI reported. While the saffron party said that its Jehanabad district general secretary succumbed to injuries due to a "brutal" lathi charge by police, the district administration refuted the allegations saying “no injury marks were found on his body”.

The district administration in Patna said the deceased, Vijay Kumar Singh, a resident of Jehanabad, was "found unconscious by the roadside,” PTI reported. "No injury marks have been found on his body," said the statement. The administration also added that Singh was taken to PMCH, the state's largest government hospital.

However, the death stoked a controversy, with the BJP training guns at the Bihar government over alleged police brutality.

Taking to Twitter, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, “Arrested by Bihar police in Patna, Jehanabad dist GS Vijay Kumar Singh died in brutal police lathi charge.”

BJP president JP Nadda tweeted saying the lathi charge on BJP workers is a result of the failure and indignation of the state government. “The Grand Alliance government is attacking democracy to save the citadel of corruption. To save the person who has been charge-sheeted, the chief minister of Bihar has even forgotten his morality,” he wrote.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan wondered if Bihar is currently under an “undeclared emergency”.

“I condole the death of BJP worker Vijay Singh, on behalf of my party. I also want to ask Nitish Kumar and Bihar government, who is responsible for his death? Somebody was beaten to death by a lathi...those who raise their voice against the state government is silenced by lathi...CM must answer, he is accountable for this death,” news agency ANI quoted Paswan as saying.

"BJP observing today as a black day. Today, democracy was murdered. Vijay Singh was our brother and an important leader. We will fight against Nitish Kumar,"ANI quoted Samrat Choudhary, Bihar LoP and state BJP chief as saying.

Notably, Bihar BJP workers held a protest march to the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday against the Bihar government over the issue of the posting of teachers in the state.