Angry Nalanda villagers chase JD(U) minister over compensation delay after road tragedy

Tension flared in Nalanda on Wednesday when angry villagers chased Bihar rural development minister Shrawan Kumar and local JD(U) legislator Krishna Murari Sharan for nearly a kilometre after they visited a village to console families of those killed in a recent road accident.

The incident took place in Malawan village of Nalanda district — the minister’s home turf — days after at least nine people, including eight women, lost their lives in a head-on collision between an autorickshaw and a truck on the Daniyawan-Hilsa road in Patna district.

The victims had been travelling to take a ritual dip in the Ganga river.

Villagers demand immediate relief

Police said the minister, accompanied by armed security, had gone to offer condolences to the bereaved families. But tempers flared when locals pressed him on compensation.

According to one source as reported by ToI, the families demanded not just ex-gratia relief but also money to conduct last rites. The minister, however, reportedly expressed his inability to assure them on the spot, saying the matter would be discussed later.

The response infuriated the villagers, who armed themselves with bamboo sticks and stones and began chasing the minister and the MLA. Eyewitnesses said the angry mob pursued the minister’s convoy for about a kilometre.

A video of the chaotic scenes, showing Shrawan Kumar clutching his dhoti and switching between three vehicles before finally escaping, quickly went viral.

Hilsa SHO Abhijit Kumar confirmed the incident. "The villagers had some issues with the minister after which they chased him. We safely escorted him out of the village," he said.

JD(U) alleges political motive

The JD(U) has dismissed the villagers’ anger as politically driven.

"We smell a rat in the incident. The govt already provided initial compensation of Rs 20,000 to each family of the victims while the process of providing other monetary benefits is underway. So, we don't understand the reason for the anger among the villagers," party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.

The clash underscores growing public frustration with the government, coming just days after health minister and BJP leader Mangal Pandey’s car was attacked by a mob in Patna protesting the murder of two children.