Nearly 65,000 constables of the Bihar police have been observing a 24-hour 'mass fast' on Wednesday, as part of their agitational programme to press for their long-pending nine-point charter of demands.

The Bihar State Policemen's Association president, Jitendra Narain Singh, threatened to intensify their agitation if the state government did not fulfil their demands soon.

"We will organise a dharna on Sepember 30 to draw attention to our demands and after that, we will go on mass casual leave on October 18, the day of first phase of assembly polls," he said.

Policemen have been demanding payment of Rs 10 lakh each to the dependents of police personnel killed in extremist-related violence, similar to the Jharkhand scheme. They also want free education for the children of policemen killed in Naxal violence and payment of Rs 50,000 each to injured policemen for medical treatment.

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