Patna: A youth in Begusarai district cut off his long “choti” (tuft of hair) on camera after the administration demolished his house and tea stall during an anti-encroachment drive, leaving him and his family homeless.The incident occurred on Saturday in Lohiya Nagar, where bulldozers cleared makeshift houses and shops as part of the govt’s effort to remove encroachments from public spaces. The video of Kundan Mahto’s protest has gone viral on social media.“I used to consider Union minister Giriraj Singh as my idol. Looking at him, I kept a ‘choti’ for the last 10 years. I was a devotee of PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar, but now the govt ran a bulldozer on my house and tea shop without notice. My house was my pride; when that itself is gone, I don’t want this ‘choti’ either,” he said.He added, “I have no problem with Hindu religion, but now I don’t want a govt with a tikki. Today the bulldozer has run over my house; tomorrow it will run over my stomach.”Near Lohiya Nagar railway crossing, huts and tea shops were removed with earthmoving machines while Kundan appeared in front of the camera, expressing his frustration as a devotee of Giriraj, Modi and Nitish.
