PATNA: Clashes broke out between protesters and police in several parts of Bihar on Saturday during a statewide bandh called by opposition parties and various social organisations over the NEET paper leak controversy and recent police action against student protesters, while incidents of stone-pelting, vandalism and police action, including tear gas and lathicharge, were reported in Patna, Siwan and Chapra.In Patna, demonstrators demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan allegedly vandalised police vehicles and overturned them, prompting authorities to deploy additional security personnel in affected areas. Similar incidents of unrest were reported in Siwan, where students clashed with police.In Chapra district, tensions escalated after protests related to the NEET issue turned violent. According to officials, demonstrators allegedly pelted stones at police personnel, forcing the police to respond with tear gas shells and a lathicharge to disperse the crowd.Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma said law enforcement acted with restraint while handling the situation.“We have used limited force and dispersed the crowd. Some individuals have been detained and will be questioned further. We are now going to other locations to clear it,” SSP Sharma said.Patna City DSP Raj Kishore said police had identified and detained those allegedly involved in the violence.“People have come from outside as well, and we have caught those who pelted stones,” the official said.Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) National President Tej Pratap Yadav joined protesting students at Gandhi Maidan in Patna in support of their demands. He was later detained by police during the demonstration.Speaking during his detention, Tej Pratap Yadav backed the protesting students and urged the government to address their concerns.“The children’s demands are legitimate. The government must fulfil their demands, and we stand firmly with them. I am ready to lay down my life for the students and youth,” Yadav told reporters.During the protest, a traffic police booth in Patna was damaged. Stone-pelting was also reported, following which police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.Authorities significantly increased security arrangements across Bihar in response to the bandh. Heavy police deployment was seen at Gandhi Maidan in Patna and other sensitive locations to maintain law and order. Visuals from Gandhi Maidan showed a strong security presence as officials remained on alert throughout the day.Meanwhile, members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) blocked the Samastipur-Patna main road as part of the statewide protest.A day earlier, CPI(ML) MLA Sandeep Saurav, who was arrested in connection with violence during the NEET protest in Patna, said the movement would continue until the Union Education Minister steps down.“We have to fight and win, and we will take Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Until then, the youth of the entire country will not stop raising their voice. This fight should continue until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns and the children who committed suicide in the NEET paper leak do not get justice,” Saurav said.AISA Bihar State President Dhananjay also criticised the government’s handling of the protests, alleging that students were being targeted for demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister.“We were on the streets demanding the resignation of one man, Dharmendra Pradhan… This government is trying to put all of us in jail… The kind of arrests you have made, the kind of inhumanity you are subjecting the youth students of Bihar to, will be completely intolerable,” he said.Earlier this week, on Wednesday, Patna also witnessed violent clashes and stone-pelting outside the state Congress headquarters as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged demonstrations in several states against the Congress party’s march towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Kalyan Marg residence in New Delhi.The protests were held across Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh amid heightened political tensions over the NEET-UG 2026 examination controversy and allegations of police action against student protesters.
