‘Maoist’ posters seeking reduction in bus fares trigger panic in Gaya

THE POSTERS ALSO CONTAINED MESSAGES URGING STATE GOVT TO BRING DOWN THE STATE COMPONENT OF FUEL TAXES

PATNA: Panic gripped transporters of Gaya after posters put up in the name of Maoists demanding reduction in bus fare and toll taxes surfaced in the district on Tuesday. However, police officials said the posters were fake.

The Gaya police seized the posters and registered a case in this connection. Security agencies have started an investigation into the matter, city superintendent of police (SP) Rakesh Kumar said.

“We have seized the posters from Sikaria More under Tekari police station after locals informed us. Police are investigating the matter from all angles. Preliminary investigation suggested that the posters pasted on the name of Maoists are fake. It is a handiwork of miscreants,” the SP said.

The posters contained the name of Zonal Marxist—Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattishgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. Some posters were also left behind drivers’ seats in many buses, auto-rickshaws, and jeeps, threatening to not ply the vehicles until the fare is reduced, police said.

The posters also contained messages urging the Bihar government to bring down the state component of fuel taxes to give relief to the people. They also held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for the hike in transport fare and toll tax.

Meanwhile, president of Bihar Motors Transport Federation, Uday Shankar Singh, said the reason behind the hike in fares of bus and truck was rise in fuel prices as well as road taxes. Fare of public transport was hiked by 25% across the state on March 15 this year.