Three protesters were injured after the police in Bihar’s Siwan district opened fire on demonstrators on Saturday as protests against alleged irregularities in competitive examinations turned violent in several parts of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state, The Hindu reported.
The protests were held in solidarity with the youth agitation in Delhi that began on June 6 to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged paper leaks. Pradhan resigned on Saturday. Hours later, the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign called off its protest at Jantar Mantar, stating that “all demands have been accepted” following talks with the Union government.
In Siwan on Saturday, the police initially used tear gas and mild force to disperse the protesters but later opened fire after they allegedly began throwing stones at security personnel, the newspaper reported.
Siwan Superintendent of Police Puran Jha and several other officers were injured during stone throwing.
On Thursday, the police in Bihar’s Jehanabad opened____ fire as protests against alleged irregularities in competitive exams turned violent.
Seven FIRs in Bengal
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said that 70 persons allegedly involved in attacking police personnel and journalists during Friday's paper-leak protest in Kolkata had been identified and would face action under the recently enacted West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026, commonly referred to as the Goonda Act, The Telegraph reported.
If invoked, it would be the first time the law has been used since it was passed by the BJP government. The law allows for preventive detention of “anti-social” persons for up to a year. A petition challenging the constitutional validity of the law has been filed before the Calcutta High Court.
In Delhi, the Union government has announced that no action would be taken against participants in the nationwide examination protests and said that first information reports filed against them in all National Democratic Alliance-ruled states would be withdrawn.
On Saturday, Adhikari said that seven FIRs have been registered in the incident on Friday and the “new Goonda Act will be invoked to punish the offenders”, the newspaper reported.
The police have arrested 11 persons, ten of them Muslims, from Kolkata and neighbouring areas for allegedly assaulting police personnel and journalists during Friday's march.
The protest march, organised by Left student organisations with support from the Kolkata unit of the Cockroach Janta Party, began around 4 pm from Sealdah and headed towards Dorina Crossing amid heavy deployment of police, the Rapid Action Force and central security personnel.
Around 6 pm, some participants allegedly hurled slippers and sticks at police personnel and attacked journalists, following which the police used lathis and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Adhikari said he had instructed the police not to use force unless the rally disrupted law and order.
He alleged that the 70 persons identified were not students but individuals “supplied” by Opposition parties. Left student organisations accused BJP “goons” of attacking peaceful protesters and targeting journalists in an attempt to disrupt the demonstration.
Six arrested in Guwahati
At least six persons have been arrested in connection with a protest in Assam’s Guwahati held in solidarity with the demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, The Indian Express reported. More than two dozen others were detained on Saturday while on their way to attend another protest.
The Students' Federation of India had organised a demonstration at the designated protest site in Chachal on Friday, which was attended by a few hundred people and was largely peaceful, the newspaper reported.
The police later registered a case at Dispur police station under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including charges related to acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, promoting enmity between groups, criminal conspiracy and assault or use of criminal force against a public servant.
An police officer said that six persons were arrested over Friday and Saturday and remanded to police custody, The Indian Express reported.
One of the persons was arrested as he was “allegedly found leading, instigating and influencing the protest gathering” and that he was “allegedly involved in arguing with and obstructing the on-duty police personnel deployed for the maintenance of law and order”, the newspaper reported.
“There are reasonable grounds to suspect that he was acting pursuant to a common design and in furtherance of a pre-planned conspiracy with other known and unknown persons,” the newspaper quoted the person’s arrest memo as stating.
The Students Federation of India had called another protest at Chachal on Saturday. The police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel blocked access to the protest site, detaining more than two dozen protesters as they arrived. They were taken to three police stations and most were released by the evening.
Dispur police station officer-in-charge Bhaskar Malla Patowary said the organisers had not obtained permission for Saturday’s protest, The Indian Express reported. He also alleged that participants in Friday’s demonstration had taken out a procession outside the designated site and blocked roads while chanting slogans.
400 booked in Mumbai
The Mumbai Police have registered 13 first information reports in connection with protests held in the city at various locations, The Hindu reported.
The cases, registered since July 18, invoke provisions related to unlawful assembly, violation of prohibitory orders and wrongful restraint, among others. Around 400 persons have been named as accused.
Police said that the demonstrations were held without permission at several locations, including Shivaji Park, Chaityabhoomi, Chembur and outside Shiv Sena Bhavan.
Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.
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