A state-wide bandh has been called by the Communist Party of India � Maoist on Thursday to protest the suicide of CPI-Maoist member Nagina Manjhi in Patna's Beur jail and the use of force by the police against the agitating Maoist inmates.
Fearing violence during the Maoist bandh, police forces across the state remained on high alert on Thursday. "The superintendents of police were asked to be on high alert and they deployed additional security forces," Inspector General (Operations) S K Bhardwaj told rediff.com.
The state-wide bandh comes a day after three Central Reserve Police Force personnel, including a commandant, were killed by Maoists in an encounter near Kadma village in East Champaran district. A Maoist was also killed in the fierce encounter on Wednesday night.
Approximately 328 inmates of the Jehanabad jail, including 67 Maoists, have also gone on a hunger strike to demand action against jail officials responsible for Manjhi's suicide.
Official sources in the Jehanabad administration confirmed that 328 inmates, including 67 Maoist inmates, 135 inmates belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist and 126 other inmates, have been on a hunger strike since Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, Maoist inmates had virtually taken control of the inner wing of the Beur jail to demand a probe into Manjhi's suicide and better healthcare facilities for the inmates. The inmates also demanded action against the superintendent of Beur jail and Rs 10 lakh compensation for Manjhi's kin. The police had resorted to lathi charge to disperse the protestors and forcibly sent them back to their cells.
Manjhi, an active member of the outlawed Maoist outfit, was found dead at the jail infirmary, where he was being treated for a minor ailment.
All jails in the state have been on a high alert since Monday, a day after a Maoist jailbreak in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.
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