India - Maoist call Bihar-Jharkhand bandh on Saturday

RANCHI: Protesting arrest of Special Area Committee (SAC) member Shiv Prasad Singh alias Rohit ji in Jharkhand and ten others from different parts of Bihar during the last one week, CPI Maoists have given a call for Bihar and Jharkhand bandh this Saturday. Essential services like medical facilities and marriage parties would be allowed free movement during bandh hours beginning Friday midnight. Spokesperson Bihar Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC) of CPI (Maoist) Gopal ji accused the police of using highhandedness in Bihar on behest of JD (U) MLA Raju Kumar Singh of Sahebgunj constituency. He said that one Pintu Ram of Bhagwanpur in Saran district, Dipak Ram and Baskit Sahmu also of Saran and Yugesh Yadav of Chitwa bandh village in Aurangabad district were arrested by police along with six other villagers from Muzaffarpur district on direction of Sahebgunj MLA. “Police have beaten them up in custody and have been torturing them,”Gopal Ji said condemning the police act.
The Maoists have also taken up the cause of forest dwellers of Jharkhand-Bihar who depend on minor forest produce for their livelihood. “Police have intensified their operations in the jungles and have restricted the villagers from venturing into the forests to collect Mahua or firewood,” Gopal ji said claiming that this would lead the villagers to die of starvation. “Most of the villagers in forest area depend upon Mahua collection during this season to support their livelihood but if they are forced to remain indoors they would not be able to earn a penny and ultimately would be forced to migrate as labourers,” he added.

Maoists have ruled out giving any bandh call on Wednesday. Responding to media reports in vernacular about the Wednesday bandh, Gopal ji said that police intelligence experts are behind false propaganda. “We had not extended any bandh call for Wednesday but common life was badly hit after such a message, though false, was circulated by the security agencies,” Gopal ji said threatening to deal with such acts of cheating sternly in future.