Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh for the family of the deceased in the recent violence in Sasaram and Biharsharif. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by the CM, reported news agency ANI.
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Kumar has also asked the police to be on alert and said that “rumormongering must be prevented”.
A day after a violent clash broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession near Gagan Diwan Mohalla under Laheri police station in Biharsharif, another clash broke out in Bihar’s Nalanda district and Sasaram town in Rohtas district on Saturday evening – in which one person died, and at least 10 were injured.
According to reports, the two groups in Biharsharif pelted stones and fired at each other – leading to injuries to two people. While in Sasaram, six people were injured in a bomb explosion.
Meanwhile, another incident of stone pelting during a Ram Navami procession was also reported from Gaya and Naugachhia.
Amid the violence in the state, internet services were suspended in several districts of Bihar for 48 hours. Section 144 (prohibitory orders) was also imposed in Nalanda and Sasaram.
Earlier on Saturday, CM Nitish Kumar blamed the communal clashes on “some mischief”. “Communal tensions during Ram Navami festivities at Sasaram and Bihar Sharif are disturbing. Such incidents happened for the first time in the area. It’s not natural…We know some people are indulging in “gadbad” (mischief) and are trying to disrupt communal harmony in the state,” the chief minister said.
(With inputs from agencies)
