Roach wave sweeps India as student protests spread beyond Delhi
What began as a small protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar has snowballed into a nationwide movement, with demonstrations now being reported across multiple states as
What began as a small protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar has snowballed into a nationwide movement, with demonstrations now being reported across multiple states as protesters continue to demand Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the NEET-UG paper leak row. The agitation gained momentum after police cracked down on protesters marching from Jantar Mantar to Parliament, using tear gas to disperse the crowd. Since then, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has refused to back down, insisting on accountability in the paper leak and Pradhan's resignation. Organisers say they have no plans to scale back the agitation and claim every crackdown has only drawn larger crowds to the protest. Read Full Story The CJP kicked off the day with a video on X showing hundreds of young protesters gathering in Chandigarh to demand Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. In Mumbai, protests intensified on Wednesday despite heavy police deployment. Around 1,500 protesters, including several actors and comedians, gathered on the rain-soaked streets of Shivaji Park and raised slogans seeking Pradhan's resignation. Police said the demonstration did not have the required permission and detained around 200 people. Officials said a larger crowd that gathered later was dispersed peacefully and that further legal action was being initiated. One of the most widely shared moments of the day also came from Mumbai. A viral video showed a man opening the latch of a police van carrying detained protesters, after which several youths climbed out and ran before police could respond.
The incident took place during a demonstration at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyan Chowk in Chembur, where police said 700 to 800 protesters had assembled in violation of prohibitory orders. Officials said personnel had shown restraint and had repeatedly appealed to the crowd to disperse before around 200 people were detained. The agitation has also spread to other parts of Maharashtra, where protests were reported outside Mumbai as demonstrators repeated their demand for accountability in the paper leak case and the resignation of the Education Minister. In Patna, the issue entered the political arena and disrupted proceedings in the Bihar Assembly today. Opposition MLAs staged protests over the lathi-charge on students during the Delhi demonstrations, leading to repeated disruptions in the House. The confrontation sharpened after a ruling alliance MLA described those who had allegedly attacked his vehicle as "goons." Earlier, Bihar Police fired tear gas shells, lathi-charged protesters and even used water cannons in a bid to stop them from marching towards the Governor's House. Several students marching under the banner of the All India Students' Association (AISA), the student wing of the CPI(ML) Liberation, were met with police action at Gandhi Maidan, around three kilometres from the Governor's House. The movement has also gathered pace in Bengaluru, where protesters assembled in support of the Delhi agitation and repeated their demand for action against those responsible for the paper leak, along with Pradhan's resignation.
The BriefWire