Residents of Nala Road clash with the police during a protest over waterlogging, in Patna on Friday. Telegraph picture

Patna, Aug. 12: Residents of Langar Toli in Nala Road area clashed with the police today after a peaceful protest against waterlogging turned violent.

Around 10 this morning, the protesters blocked Nala Road under Kadamkuan to protest against the alleged apathy of Patna Municipal Corporation. They complained that a drain in the area had not been cleaned and this leads to sewerage problems. For the past 10 days the area has been inundated and many people have been forced to live in the dirty water that has invaded their homes.

As the residents blocked the thoroughfare and raised slogans against the civic body, personnel from the local police station arrived to control the situation. They tried to persuade the residents to lift the blockade. Deputy superintendent of police (town) Ramakant Prasad also reached the spot.

Sources said Prasad attacked one of the protesters and roughed him up.

“We were just protesting when this officer came and hit one of us. He began to push and pull the others to make us move away from the road. All of a sudden, some more police officers joined him and they began hitting us with lathis. Some of the women protesters were also hit though there was no female police personnel,” said one of the protesters, on condition of anonymity.

The unprovoked attack turned the peaceful protesters violent, who vented their fury on Prasad and his colleagues. A skirmish ensued between the policemen and the protesters. Sources said the cops were on the backfoot, as they had not expected such an attack. The women protesters joined their male counterparts in beating up the cops.

Two men in uniform suffered injuries, said a police officer. The windscreens of many vehicles were also smashed. The residents said they retaliated when the police beat them up for no reasons. “What was our fault? What was the fault of the women? Why did the police attack us?” said one of them.

The police, however, had a different version.

“The protesters were not residents of the area at all but activists of All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (Aidso). Some of the residents had summoned them to organise the protest. They were burning tyres and indulging in violence when the police tried to stop them, resulting in the clash. The group attacked the police with stones. The cops retaliated. Five people have been arrested and remanded in jail custody. An FIR has been lodged against 25 people, all of whom are members of Aidso,” Prasad said.

The officer also said there was no civic problem in the area and the police were talking to the residents to sort out any misunderstanding.

“We are talking to the residents. Things are being worked out,” Prasad said.