Tejashwi attacks Bihar govt over jail death, alleges police brutality

RJD leader and Bihar leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday stepped up his attack on the NDA government over law and order, alleging that police brutality was rising and warning that he would not allow Bihar to become a “police state”.

Yadav made the remarks after meeting the family of 19-year-old Roshan Kumar Yadav, who died in judicial custody at Madhubani’s Mandal Jail on 10 August. The circumstances surrounding the death have triggered competing claims, with the authorities treating it as a suspected suicide while the family has alleged that Roshan was killed. A magistrate-level inquiry has been ordered into the death.

According to the jail authorities, Roshan was found hanging inside the jail and was taken for medical treatment, where he died. His family, however, has alleged that his body bore injury marks and has demanded an independent investigation into the circumstances of his death. 

Yadav questioned the official account and alleged that Roshan had been subjected to severe custodial abuse.

“The 19-year-old had been lodged in jail since 27 May in connection with an Arms Act case. Later, he was released but rearrested soon after. The boy was brutally beaten and subjected to electric shocks. This is an inhuman act by the police. We will not allow Bihar to become a police state,” Yadav said.

The RJD leader also accused the state government of failing to prevent what he described as a “complete collapse” of law and order and growing police excesses.

The case has already prompted official scrutiny. Madhubani district magistrate Anand Sharma ordered a magisterial inquiry covering 18 points, including an inspection of the jail cell, to establish the circumstances and cause of Roshan’s death. 

The matter has also drawn intervention from Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who met the family and Madhubani SSP on 15 August and sought a comprehensive probe. Police have assured that the allegations surrounding Roshan’s arrest, alleged custodial treatment and death will be examined, with the investigation to follow National Human Rights Commission guidelines, according to reports. 

Kishor has given the authorities 10 days to complete the inquiry and establish accountability, saying he would escalate the matter if the family did not receive justice. 

The controversy comes amid a broader political confrontation between the RJD and the NDA government over law and order and alleged police excesses in Bihar. Yadav has repeatedly accused the administration of using excessive force against protesters and has demanded accountability for alleged police misconduct.

For the RJD, Roshan’s death has now become another flashpoint in its campaign against the state government, with Yadav seeking to turn the case into a wider debate over custodial accountability, police conduct and the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Bihar.

With PTI inputs