Thousands of students and owners of life coaching institutes in the Rohtas District of Bihar state took to the streets on Monday to protest against the government’s new lockdown measures, which will see all educational institutions closed from 5 to 11 April.
Demonstrators argued the move was not in the interests of students as they burned tyres and threw stones at police.
Videos of students vandalising property, shops, and vehicles are doing the rounds online.
Rampage outside DM Office by students against closing educational institutions & the same is not applicable for elections.@NitishKumar @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/1uWF1QdgQt
— Manohar Mishra (@Manohar43974095) April 5, 2021
It took two hours for officers to disperse the crowd.
"We have arrested nine students involved in the arson attack. They have been booked under relevant IPC sections for vandalising public and government properties," District Magistrate Dharmendra Kumar told Indian newswire IANS.
"The state government has shut all the educational institutions till April 11 amid a surge in Covid-19 infections and it cannot be rolled back. The move is in the public interest. The arson attack cannot be justified," he added.
Netizens voiced their opinion on social media, with many tagging Bihar State Chief Nitish Kumar to highlight claims that schools and public areas are not following coronavirus guidelines.
Not a single school following protocol regarding covid guidelines.
— Siddharth Jha🇮🇳 (@Siddharth_sj25) April 5, 2021
Private schools are already open at haripur village gurmaha block pandaul District Madhubani Bihar. @officecmbihar @NitishKumar @IPRD_Bihar @ZeeBiharNews @BiharHealthDept @SanjayJhaBihar @BJP4Bihar @ANINewsBihar
Corona guidelines not follow ing at nautan block siwan bihar ye system hai bihar ka @NitishKumar @officecmbihar @mangalpandeybjp @narendramodi @AshwiniKChoubey @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/3fMfBblYGi
— avinash kumar singh (@avinashk430_) April 5, 2021
