New Delhi: Bihar Police arrested Kundan Kumar, convener of Bajrang Dal’s Nalanda district unit, on Saturday, April 8, in connection with the violence during Ram Navami in Biharsharif town. Police said he was forced to surrender, as the administration began to attach his properties.

Kumar has been sent to police custody, and police took away furniture from his house in Ayodhya Nagar in Biharsharif town.

“Kundan is the Bajrang Dal chief of Nalanda district. He is accused of gathering a huge crowd in the name of a Ram Navami procession in Biharsharif without proper permission. That mob went out of control and violence started,” The Telegraph quoted Nalanda district superintendent of police, Ashok Mishra, as saying.

The police official added that they began the property attachment process with court permission against nine accused on Saturday, April 8. “Eight of them, including Kundan, have surrendered under pressure from the police,” he said.

On March 31, violence rocked Biharsharif town during a Ram Navami procession, resulting in the death of a young man. Several properties were vandalised and set on fire. There were reports of looting during the violence. Similar violence was witnessed in Rohtas district in the state. In all, Bihar Police arrested 130 people and registered seven FIRs.

Meanwhile, Kumar alleges that he is being framed, and blamed the administration for the violence. “I have surrendered because my family’s property was being attached. The (violent) incidents happened because of the inadequate arrangements made by the administration,” Kundan told local media, adding that, in fact, he was with the officer in charge of the “Bihar” police station — a police station in Biharsharif — on the day of violence.

He said he has possession of photos and videos shot from his three drone cameras to prove his version of how the incidents unfolded. He also claimed that he had taken prior permission from the police for taking out the procession.

“This entire episode reeks of a conspiracy. There were many people claiming to be Bajrang Dal workers whom I had never seen before,” he said…

This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here