By India Today News Desk: Jharkhand Police on Thursday registered an FIR against 41 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and workers, including Union Minister Arjun Munda and former Chief Ministers Raghubar Das and Babulal Marandi, for violating prohibitory orders during the party’s recent secretariat gherao programme held on Tuesday in Ranchi, news agency PTI quoted an official.

The police on Tuesday used water canons, burst tear gas shells and lathi-charged the protesters to prevent them from marching towards the secretariat, where prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPc were issued. The administration had warned that the protesters who violated the prohibitory orders would be booked.

The FIR was registered at Dhurwa Police Station against 41 people based on a complaint lodged by the executive magistrate posted on the spot, Additional District Magistrate (law and order) RN Alok said.

Reacting to the FIR, Arjun Munda called it a “political conspiracy”.

BJP leader Munda said the party observed ‘black day’ on Wednesday in protest against the “police atrocities”.

The BJP leaders also brought out a symbolic “funeral procession” of Chief Minister Hemant Soren in protest.

Ranchi Police had on Tuesday said that they had to resort to “mild lathi-charge” when protesters broke through the barricades and tried to force their way towards the secretariat.