Patna: A shoe was hurled at Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi during his weekly ‘Janata Durbar’ here yetserday, police said. The shoe missed its target but the man who threw it was arrested.
A smiling Manjhi told the media he failed to understand the intention of the man — identified as Amritosh Kumar, a resident of Saran district. “The shoe fell four-five feet from Manjhi but it shocked him. He never expected such an incident,” a police officer said.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana told reporters it was a planned act by the man and he confessed during police interrogation.
Amritosh Kumar told police he was fed up and angry as his work was not done despite several visits to the ‘Janata Durbar’.
He said Manjhi has not done any development work and was involved in “caste politics”. Many political parties condemned the incident and described it as a reflection of the growing undemocratic manner of protest.
1,700 Hindus convert to Buddhism in Bihar
Patna: Around 1,700 Hindus in Bihar have embraced Buddhism citing the religion’s emphaisis on unity and no discrimination among its followers, an official said yesterday.
Of these, 1,200 belong to Bainkathpur and Kudarbagha villages in Saran district, about 80 km from here, said a district police official The conversion took place on Saturday and on Sunday, the official added. According to the official, most of those converted to Buddhism were dalits and mahadalits and have been facing social discrimination in day to day life.
Agencies
