Patna: Around a dozen security personnel and a JDU MLA were injured and six official vehicles, including that of the director-general of police, were damaged when residents of a Dalit hamlet in Buxar district pelted stones at chief minister Nitish Kumar's convoy on Friday.

Nitish was not hurt in the incident, which occurred around 1pm at Nandan village when he was returning to the Dumraon sub-divisional headquarters, around 110km west of Patna, after taking stock of development works at the village as part of his Vikas Karyon Ki Samiksha Yatra.

A group of residents of the Dalit Tola of Nandan village insisted that Nitish should also visit their hamlet of 500 people, which was still deprived of basic amenities.

The officials stopped them from reaching where Nitish was going door to door. The protesters sat on the road from where the convoy was to return.

The crowd got restless when Nitish proceeded to board his vehicle. The police lathicharged to disperse the protesters. As soon as the CM's convoy started, the protesters started throwing stones at the vehicles.

Three of the CM's security personnel, Dumraon police station house officer Subodh Kumar, two other policemen, Dumraon sub-divisional officer (SDO) Pramod Kumar, and JDU MLA from Dumraon Dadan Singh alias Dadan Pahalwan were injured. The stones smashed the windscreens of six vehicles, including those of DGP P.K. Thakur, Patna inspector-general of police (IG) N.H. Khan, Buxar district magistrate (DM) Arvind Kumar Verma and Dumraon SDO Pramod. Security personnel had a tough time bringing the situation under control.

The chief minister was escorted to a farmhouse around 2km away, where he later addressed a public meeting.

Nitish said at the meeting that the attack could have been provoked by some vested interests who were against development.

"I am not one to get cowed down by these things and confine myself in the headquarters," he added. "I will continue visiting places to have a firsthand feel of development works."

The chief minister has ordered an investigation by Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor and IG Khan.

Buxar DM Arvind said an FIR was being lodged, and "action will be taken against the people involved in the incident on the basis of video footage".

Buxar superintendent of police Rajesh Kumar said the guilty would not spared.