Bhopal, Aug 18 (PTI) Police cane-charged protesters in Bhopal on Wednesday during an agitation held by them to highlight their demand for jobs and filling up of vacant posts, with the state Congress condemning the "brutal and shameful" attack on the job-seekers.

Also Read | Muharram 2021 Holiday Date in Different States: From Maharashtra to Chhattisgarh, Know When State Govts Have Declared Muharram Holiday.

Police said that that they had to use "mild" lathi-charge as the protesters started running towards Raj Bhawan, located in the security zone, from Neelam Park area. They said that around 150 protesters were detained and four police personnel got injured in a bid to disperse them.

Also Read | Urmila Matondkar Lauds Supreme Court’s Decision to Allow Women to Take NDA Exam.

These protesters had gathered under the banner of Movement Against Unemployment in the Madhya Pradesh capital from different parts of the state. They alleged that no job vacancy has been offered in the state government since the past several years and unemployed youths are now crossing the employment eligibility age.

Eyewitnesses said that the police started cane-charging the protesters, when they began their march from Neelam Park to the chief minister's residence in support of their demands to fill the vacant posts and provide jobs to them.

After that, police also arrested the slogan-shouting youths, they claimed.

Several videos of the police cane-charging the protesters emerged on social media.

An activist said that after the arrest, the police dropped the protesters away from the city.

Meanwhile, Jahangirabad police station in-charge Virendra Chouhan said that these protesters were scheduled to hold an agitation at Roshanpura square under T T Nagar police station, but started gathering at Neelam Park under Jahangirabad police station.

"When they started running towards Raj Bhawan, located in the security zone, from Neelam Park, the police tried to stop them near the police headquarters. The police had to use the mild-lathi charge as the protesters were not ready to stop," he said.

Four policemen were injured during the incident, while about 100 to 150 protesters were detained, Chouhan added.

The protesters were booked under IPC 341 (wrongful restraint) and 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 149 (unlawful assembly), he said.

State Congress chief Kamal Nath shared the video showing the police cane-charge on protesters, terming it as "police brutality".

"The police resorted to brutal lathi-charge on the youths gathered from across the state to protest for the demand of employment and recruitment on vacant posts. It is condemnable and shameful that youth seeking employment were beaten up severely. This is the reality of the Shivraj government, which has been claiming of providing one lakh jobs per year," he said in a tweet.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)