Patna: Bihar Police on Monday said 355 people had been arrested and sent to judicial custody following widespread violence during the July 25 Bihar bandh, while maintaining that no protester was injured in the controversial AK-47 firing by a constable in Siwan district. The force also suspended the constable involved and ordered a departmental inquiry.
The bandh, organised in support of students protesting the NEET paper leak and demanding the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, witnessed large-scale violence across several districts. Protesters allegedly hurled stones, torched vehicles, vandalised public property and clashed with security personnel.
According to Bihar Police Headquarters, 694 people were detained during the protests. After verification, 339 minors and students were released, while 355 persons allegedly involved in violent incidents were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.
Police said the unrest left 91 police personnel injured, including the Superintendents of Police of Siwan and Sitamarhi, two Sub-Divisional Police Officers and several Station House Officers. The SHO of Gandhi Maidan police station suffered serious injuries. Fourteen government vehicles were damaged and one was set ablaze, while 13 civilians were also injured.
Two civil officials sustained severe injuries during the violence. The Sadar Block Development Officer in Saran district reportedly lost vision in one eye and is undergoing treatment at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS). The Revelganj BDO suffered a serious head injury in an alleged attack and underwent surgery at Medanta Hospital.
The police response came under intense scrutiny after a video surfaced showing District Intelligence Unit constable Abhishek Kumar firing four rounds from an AK-47 rifle into the air at JP Chowk in Siwan. The footage went viral after internet services, suspended following the violence, were restored.
Announcing his suspension, Siwan Superintendent of Police Puran Kumar Jha said the constable had violated crowd-control norms and departmental proceedings had been initiated against him.
"The particular police personnel has been suspended with immediate effect and departmental proceedings have been initiated," Jha said.
District Magistrate Vivek Ranjan Maitrey said the constable neither had authorisation to open fire nor should he have been carrying an assault rifle while deployed in a public gathering.
"He did not have orders to do so. He should not have fired in the air. Such a weapon should not have been taken into a public gathering," Maitrey said. Police, however, defended the constable's claim that he fired into the air after being surrounded by protesters to protect government property and fellow personnel. They maintained that no one at JP Chowk was injured by the firing.
Separate FIRs have been registered based on the statements of three injured youths — Mohd Arif, Akash Kumar and Bullet Kumar Gaur. Police said all three were found with bullet injuries at locations 1.5 to 2 km away from JP Chowk, where the firing took place.
Seventeen-year-old Arif and 22-year-old Akash Kumar were found injured near Hafiz Chowk, while 20-year-old Bullet Kumar Gaur was injured near the Traffic Police Station. All three were initially treated at Siwan Sadar Hospital before being shifted to a private hospital in Patna. Doctors have declared them out of danger, and Arif has since been discharged.
Jha said a preliminary probe had not established any link between the AK-47 firing and the injuries. He added that the DIU team had been passing through the area to investigate an earlier murder case when it became trapped by protesters enforcing the bandh. A joint inquiry headed by the Commissioner and the Deputy Inspector General of Police is underway.
