Bihar art, culture and youth affairs minister Vinay Bihari

Ill-fated car: The official vehicle of

Bihar

art, culture and youth affairs minister Vinay Bihari was set afire by an irate mob in Sasaram on Tuesday.

SASARAM: An abortive attempt was made to burn alive a Bihar cabinet minister in the presence of district officials, including the DM and SP of Rohtas, at Sasaram, 150km from Patna, on late Monday evening.The incident occurred at the famous Tarachandi temple where a cultural programme was organized by the administration as part of Navaratra celebrations. Art and culture minister Vinay Bihari , also a folk singer, inaugurated the programme at which he sang religious songs. A couple of other famous folk singers were also scheduled to perform at the function.But the poor sound and sitting arrangements annoyed the gathering, and some of them started hurling chairs towards the dais. As a chair fell on SP Chandan Kumar Kushwaha, the police started caning people. This further infuriated the mob which started pelting the police and dais with bricks and stones. Sensing the angry mood of the mob, the minister and officials had to scurry for cover.“Had I not hidden myself under the dais for over two hours, I would have been roasted alive,” the minister, whose official vehicle was torched by the mob, told newsmen on Tuesday morning. Wearing a bandage on head and chin and visibly shaken even 12 hours after the incident, he said he overheard a few persons carrying petrol cans and looking for him. “I applied my mind and preferred braving stones to being burned by coming out of hiding and running away towards the road,” he said and recalled he later watched with horror the dais going up in flames.While the minister demanded a high level inquiry and held the local administration responsible for the incident, SP Kushwaha said the police have lodged an FIR against 500 unidentified people and arrested six accused. A bottle of petrol was also recovered from the possession of one of them.DM R K Jha said the administration could not make adequate arrangements for the minister’s security due to delayed information about his visit. But the minister said the administration was intimated about his visit a month back.While the minister’s car was torched, at least 12 other vehicles were damaged. At least a hundred people were injured or bruised. The minister alleged a conspiracy behind the episode. “Why was only my vehicle torched? Many official vehicles were parked nearby,” he said.