Patna, Mar 24 (IANS): Police on Tuesday carried out a baton charge in the Bihar Assembly premises to disperse legislators of opposition parties holding a sit-in outside the Speaker's chamber.

Police personnel was also seen kicking and punching agitating legislators. Many lawmakers said that they had sustained injuries.

Legislators of the RJD, Congress and Left parties were sitting outside the chamber of Speaker Vijay Sinha to protest the forcible act of Patna police in arresting top RJD leaders at Dak Bungalow Chowk earlier in the day ahead of the 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' it had called against rising incidents of crime, deteriorating health system, unavailability of jobs etc.

The police action came after pleas to the opposition legislators to vacate the premises after leaders of ruling parties claimed that they held the Speaker captive inside his own chamber went unheeded and saw heated arguments between police personnel, marshals and opposition legislators.

Bhai Virendra, the RJD MLA from Maner said: "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is directly involved in the brutal act. He is behaving like Hitler. He has given a free hand to the police to initiate lathi-charge on us. Many of us have received a fracture in hands and skulls."

RJD MLC Subodh Rai said: "We were assembled there to point out our grievances but the Speaker did not listen to us. Still, we peacefully sat there in expectation that he would come out from his chamber and listen us but he didn't. The police and marshals of the Vidhan Sabha forcibly threw us out from the premises.. their act was cruel behaviour with public representatives. We are not criminals."