Bihar must open minds: Assam shuts down

Miscreants ransacked the Samata Party office in Guwahati today, protesting against the silence of Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar on the attack on train passengers from the North-East in Bihar, while life came to a standstill in the state following a 24-hour bandh called by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU).

The glass panes of the Samata Party office were shattered as miscreants pelted stones, thereby damaging some vehicles, and breaking the signboard, PTI quoted official sources as saying.

Though there were no reports of any major untoward incident, six huts belonging to Bihari milkmen were reportedly gutted Gauhati University. Also, four AASU members were injured in a clash with Bihari shopkeepers in Margherita in Upper Assam.

Reports from Tinsukia said the four students were injured when the shopkeepers attacked them as they were trying to force the closure of shops. Two of the students have been admitted to Assam Medical College Hospital at Dibrugarh.

Reports of assaults on Bihari vendors and shopkeepers have also come in from other districts. There are, however, no casualties, sources said.

In Guwahati, miscreants stoned and damaged the official vehicle of the NF Railways GM as AASU volunteers picketed in front of the NF Railway headquarters. Two other private vehicles and four two-wheelers were also damaged in five other incidents in the city. The capital wore a deserted look with no public transport on the roads. Banks, educational institutions and government offices also remained shut.

NF Railways had announced the cancellation of several trains yesterday, including the Howrah-bound Kamrup Express and many Delhi-bound trains.

Indian Airlines, Sahara and Jet Airways, however, ran their flights as usual though the turnout of passengers remained low due to the non-availability of taxis and other forms of transport. Among those stranded on the way to the airport was National Commission for Women chairperson Purnima Advani.

Advani demanded that those responsible for misbehaving with women train passengers in Bihar be punished. ‘‘Only their arrest will not do, they must be punished immediately,’’ she told reporters here.

Meanwhile Assam Chief Secretary today shot off a letter to his Bihar counterpart, seeking a judicial inquiry or CBI probe into the assault on train passengers.