Family members of Gorakh Thakur (third from right) at Sachivalaya police station in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

A Muzaffarpur resident threatened to commit suicide, along with his family, outside the Assembly on Wednesday, saying the government had not taken action against his mother’s alleged murderer.

Gorakh Thakur (40) of Purushottam village under Maniyari police station in Muzaffarpur district alleged that his mother was murdered a year ago. The protesters included four children between the age group of four and 12 years.

The incident took place around 12 noon in front of gate number 1 of the Assembly. Police stopped Thakur and his family members after some of them had allegedly poured kerosene on themselves. They were later taken to the Sachivalaya police station. However, the police have denied that the Thakur family members tried to kill themselves and said that all of them had been released after interrogation.

An officer at the police station told The Telegraph: “They had assembled in front of the Assembly gate and suddenly started raising slogans. The people in the Assembly couldn’t understand what was going on. There is adequate security at the gate and the police caught them and tried to calm them down.

“Later, they were brought to the police station and let off after some queries. None of them tried to kill themselves.”

Thakur said his mother had been murdered in November last year. “It has been almost a year now and the police have done nothing. The accused are roaming freely. I have met the administration many times in this regard but nothing has been done to bring the guilty to book. We would kill ourselves if justice is not delivered.”

Sources at the Maniyari police station confirmed the incident. “Thakur hails from a village where most of the people belong to a particular caste. Last year, during Dussehra (October 30), one of his brothers had a scuffle with some people over a seat in the front row during a show. “These men entered Thakur’s house the same day and had a clash with him and his family members.

“His 60-year-old mother, Parwati Devi, was hit in the incident. Thakur lodged a case against eight persons,” the police said. A month later, Thakur’s mother died suddenly and he alleged that she had died of injuries sustained in the scuffle. “Of the eight persons named in the FIR, five have been nabbed while three are absconding and the police will move the court for the attachment of their property,” the police said.