Congress presents proof of Bihar police ‘brutality’, demands Samrat-Shah exit

Six Congress fact-finding teams that travelled across Bihar to investigate the police crackdown on protesting students and other youth on 25 July have returned with one conclusion — the BJP-led government in Bihar unleashed unprecedented violence to quell the protest.

From Siwan — where protesters were shot during the 25 July agitation — to Purnia — where the Congress alleges students were beaten despite having permission for a peaceful march — the fact-finding teams have concluded that the state machinery was used to intimidate, criminalise and silence young protesters.

The teams visited six places and met injured students, their families, journalists and civil society representatives before submitting their findings to the Congress leadership.

The party has now turned the report into a direct political challenge to Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary and Union home minister Amit Shah: who ordered the crackdown, who will take responsibility for the alleged police excesses, and when will those responsible resign?

The Congress has questioned the police account of the firing in Siwan, where several protesters were injured. According to the party, Bihar Police have acknowledged that an AK-47 rifle was used during the incident. But a video from the spot purportedly shows an unidentified man carrying a pistol.

The Congress fact-finding team claimed that the protesters who suffered bullet injuries — Bullet Kumar Gaur, Akash and Arif — were hit by bullets fired from the pistol and not the AK-47.

Gaur was shot above the knee, Akash in the shoulder and Arif in the neck, according to the report. The police maintained that the firing was in self-defence. The Congress, however, has questioned this explanation, pointing to the nature and location of the injuries.

The party has also questioned why protesters were shot in areas including the neck and above the knee if the objective was merely to disperse an agitated crowd.

Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi, who was part of the Siwan fact-finding team, cited the case of Bullet Kumar Gaur, who was preparing for Agniveer recruitment. “Bullet Kumar was shot above the knee and, despite being injured, was beaten by the police for 40 minutes. This is extremely shameful,” Pratapgarhi said. “So the question arises — who fired this bullet? All three children are from very poor families, and when they raised their voice for their rights, they were shot.”

Pratapgarhi demanded the resignation of Choudhary and Shah, holding the state and central governments politically responsible for the treatment meted out to protesting students.

The Congress alleged that the administration did not stop at using force against protesters but subsequently sought to criminalise the agitation. According to the fact-finding teams, students were booked under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the provision relating to attempt to murder.

"In Siwan, an AK-47 was fired during a student movement — something that has never happened in the history of our country. It's extremely shocking that the children who were picked up from their homes after the protest have been charged with attempt to murder and under sections of the Arms Act," Adivasi Congress national chairman Vikrant Bhuria said.

The fact-finding teams also alleged that police personnel dragged students out of their homes at gunpoint and threatened their parents. Even minors, the Congress claimed, were arrested and lodged in jails alongside habitual offenders.

The Congress also alleged that students continued to be harassed despite the Bihar government’s assurance that cases related to the agitation would be withdrawn.

Raghogarh MLA Jaivardhan Singh, who was part of the Patna fact-finding team, accused the Bihar government of publicly stigmatizing students. “The BJP government in Bihar printed the names of 117 students in newspapers like criminals after the agitation, stigmatising them,” Singh said. “My question is, is there any such rule under which the faces of innocent students can be printed in newspapers and they can be declared criminals without evidence? Who is responsible for this?”

The Congress said such actions showed that the government was attempting to turn a youth protest over examination-related grievances into a law-and-order issue.

Congress leader Ragini Nayak alleged that in Purnia, students and youth had obtained permission for a peaceful march but were subsequently surrounded and beaten by the police.

“The brutality inflicted on students in Delhi and Bihar has shown that the BJP government has crossed all limits of insensitivity. In Purnia, students and youth had sought permission for a march. They were granted permission, but then they were surrounded and beaten, and we have all these visuals with us,” Nayak said. “In this incident, the policemen have torn to shreds their own rules.”

Congress MP Pappu Yadav also raised allegations of harassment of girls by activists associated with the Bajrang Dal and VHP. “Why are these people roaming around in plain clothes and forcing little girls to apologise?” he asked, demanding action against those allegedly involved.

Yadav also sought Shah’s resignation and suggested examination centres be established at the commissionerate or district level to reduce the travel and financial burden on students. He called for a dedicated online education platform for poor students, with access to qualified teachers, and demanded that the government publish a properly structured examination calendar.

Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru linked the protests to the financial burden faced by unemployed youth appearing for government recruitment examinations.

“If Adani can be given more than 1,000 acres of land for Re 1, why can’t the examination fee be reduced to Re 1?” he asked “Students and youth of Bihar ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi: If they can give thousands of acres of land to their friend Adani for Re 1, then why not make the fees for all our recruitment examinations Re 1?”