Ten injured as police baton charge agitating employees in Patna - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Ten persons were injured as police resorted to baton charge and used water cannons to disperse agitating employees of state administered fair price dealer shops in Patna, capital of Bihar state, on Wednesday. Hundreds of franchise of fair price shops from across the state and the workers and labourers hired by them staged a sit-in demonstration in the city, blocking a busy street. They were demanding to be treated at par with government employees and seeking wages. "The government is not heeding to our demands. We have decided either we will meet the state chief or he should come here. Otherwise, I won't leave till I am dead," said Sri Kant Lal, Secretary General, Fair Price Dealers' Association. Baton wielding policemen swung into action as the squatters did not let traffic pass. "Traffic was blocked for a long time. More protestors were gathering and there was an apprehension that their agitation could spin out of control, so we had to take an action (Q. Have some arrests been made?) Yes, we have made some arrests, we are verifying their role," said Manu Mahajan, city Superintendent of Police. Seven protestors were held for inciting and indulging in violence.