Bihar police brutality against student protesters poses grave threat to democracy: Kanhaiya Kumar
The Bihar police used gun fire, tear gas, and lathis against student protesters without following the manadatory legal procedures for the use of force, according
The Bihar police used gun fire, tear gas, and lathis against student protesters without following the manadatory legal procedures for the use of force, according to a Congress fact-finding team’s preliminary report. Discussing the report at a press conference in Patna on Tuesday (August 4, 2026), Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who is the national in-charge for the party’s student wing, the Students Union of India, said the police brutality uncovered in the report is a threat to democracy in the State. He alleged that the police blatantly disregarded the law and police manuals in their attempt to crush peaceful, democratic student protests across various districts, and called for a fair, judicial enquiry into the police actions. The fact-finding team visited several districts, including Patna, Siwan, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur, and Darbhanga, and spoke with affected students, their families, eyewitnesses, and administrative officials. ‘Excessive force’ “The preliminary report reveals that students were subjected to lathi-charges, tear gas, firing, and mass arrests in multiple locations.
According to the report, the mandatory legal procedures for the use of force were not followed, and it remains unclear under whose orders, whether a magistrate or an officer, the action was taken,” Mr. Kumar said. He alleged that the police used excessive force in firing on students in Siwan with AK-47 guns, adding that there were also allegations regarding the use of inappropriate weapons for crowd control. Adequate evidence regarding medical examinations of injured students, arrest memos, and compliance with other legal procedures was not provided, he said. Kumar said the fact-finding team encountered numerous cases where students, minors, and female students were detained illegally; their families were not informed on time, and in many instances, they were not produced before a court within the stipulated time frame. He asserted that the report indicates that many students were arrested despite having no direct connection to the protests and no prior criminal record.
‘Fair judicial inquiry needed’ He pointed out that the government’s claim of withdrawing all cases does not reflect the actual situation, as FIRs remain registered in several districts and action against many students is still ongoing. According to Mr. Kumar, the fact-finding team alleged that journalists, YouTubers, and social media influencers covering the protests were also identified and harassed by the police, with arrests made in some instances. He demanded that the Bihar government conduct a fair, judicial inquiry into every police action taken during the student protests, fix accountability for responsible officials, make details of all pending cases public, and withdraw the cases registered against innocent students and others. Baton charge against NSUI protesters “Bihar is the land of democracy, and any attempt to transform it into a regime of police rule or ‘lathi-tantra’ (rule by the baton) would not be accepted at any cost,” Mr. Kumar said.
The BriefWire