They are farmers, not criminals...: Sushil on midnight action in Buxar

NEW DELHI: Former Bihar chief minister Sushil Modi has lashed out at the "insensitive" Mahagathbandhan government a day after the midnight violence in the Buxar district of the state in which a large group of farmers clashed with police who alleged that the police had assaulted villagers during a raid.

Condemning the incident, the BJP leader also called for an immediate suspension of the policemen involved in the incident.

The BJP leader alleged that the police barged into farmers' houses and assaulted them.

"They are farmers, not criminals. Maybe they clashed with the police but barging into their homes and beating them up brutally at midnight is very condemnable. Even the video of the incident has gone viral now," Sushil Modi told ANI.

"Such policemen need not only be transferred but they need to be sacked immediately," the former Bihar chief minister said.

"Police should not have taken any action with a sense of revenge," Modi said.

He alleged that police barged into the houses of the farmers in Bihar's Buxar at midnight and beat up the farmers, their children and women.

The BJP leader appealed to the agitating farmers to not to resort to violence else, he said it would become easy for the government to crush them.

"The farmers were demanding that they should be given compensation for their land not at the rate of 2013 but at the rate of 2022. BJP is standing with the farmers. I also talked to the CMD of the corporation last night. He said that we are ready to give what the state government asked for," Modi said.

"The Deputy CM and the CM of the state say that they don't even know when the students and farmers were being lathi-charged. What kind of government is this, what an insensitive government...? They do not know what the issue is, the agitation has been going on for three months, and dozens of meetings were held, why do they want to pay 2013 rates in 2022, and that too when the electricity development corporation is ready to pay? Why does the Bihar government doesn't cooperate? The demand of the farmers is absolutely justified," the BJP leader said.

Modi said that an investigation should be launched and police personnel involved in the incident should be dismissed from service.

A farmers' protest in Buxar's Chausa area on Wednesday turned violent as villagers attacked the power plant and also torched the police vehicles, after the midnight "police crackdown" on their stir.

The Buxar Police allegedly attacked the homes of protesting farmers in the middle of the night while they were sleeping and dozens of villagers including women were injured. The police brutality was captured in the CCTV footage.

For over two months, farmers are on protest demanding better rates for their land being acquired by a state-run power company in the district's Chausa block.

Police vehicles were vandalized and set on fire. The gate of the power plant was also set on fire, police said.

The police tried to disperse the crowd by firing in the air. The entire area had been turned into a police camp. Stone pelting took place from both sides.

Earlier on Tuesday, the farmers demonstrated at the plant's main gate. After which the police allegedly entered their houses last night in Badarpur village of Mufsil police station area and beat them up.