Marathi issue backlash in Bihar, trains burnt

Mumbai: Anger over the assualt of migrants in Maharashtra was vented out on trains and railway stations in Bihar on Wednesday. Trains were set on fire and stations vandalised in the state.

Students in Bihar vandalised railway stations and disrupted road and rail traffic at many places. They burnt coaches, hijacked engines and ransacked railway stations.

Five coaches of Danapur Durg Express set on fire at Barh station

Protesters ransack Nawada, Jehanabad, Barh, Purnia and Sasaram railway stations

Four persons injured in police firing at Sasaram railway station

Maharastra bound trains stopped at various stations

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called for an all-party meeting on Thursday to tackle the menace.

However, the man who is being seen as the conductor of the orchestrated violence on the streets of Mumbai - Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray - walked out after a night in the lock up. Thackeray was given bail by a Kalyan court in the Dombivali violence case.

An MNS supporter said, "Raj Thackeray is going home. He has got interim bail and by God's grace, he will celebrate Diwali at his home."

But Thackeray might not be celebrating Diwali at home yet. He has got interim relief on his anticipatory bail application for only the next two days and the state government has moved an application to cancel the first ever bail that Thackeray secured on February 13, 2008 in the Vikhroli case.

MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar said, "The government of Maharashtra works on the same principles. Now even the common man of Maharashtra says that this is not a government run by Vilasrao Deshmukh and R R Patil."

The state government has also registered FIRs against Raj Thackeray in several other cases in different districts, in an obviously well thought out of ploy.

CASE LIST AGAINST RAJ

5 cases in Jalgaon

3 cases in Kalyan

2 cases in Mumbai

1 cases in Sholapur

1 cases in Pune rural

1 cases in Thane

Raj Thackeray may have got bail for now, but there are several pending cases against him across Maharashtra. The Vilasrao Deshmukh government now plans to pursue these cases aggressively.

It hopes long court cases will keep Raj Thackeray busy, and divert attention from the Marathi manoos (man) issue, at least for the time being.

(With inputs from George Koshy and Deborah Grey in Mumbai)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)