Bihar’s First BJP Govt Releases Photos, Brands Youth Protestors as ‘Criminals’

Patna: Amid widespread protests by youths and students in Bihar against examination paper leaks and the demand for resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, for the state police, the protestors seem like criminals.

The police have released photos of 270 protesters and have announced rewards to identify each of them, branding them like criminals. FIRs have been registered against about 2,000 protesters.

This is probably the first such move in post Independent India wherein the protesters, mostly Gen Z, are being branded as criminals, miscreants and anti-social elements for their alleged involvement in violence during the by and large peaceful protest.

According to police sources, the photos are of protestors allegedly involved in violence and damage to public property in different districts, whom police describe as miscreants. Of the 270 photos released for identification, 86 are in Katihar district, 60 in Patna, 59 in Darbhanga,30 in Begusarai,27 in Munger and eight in Muzaffarpur.

“Police have released photos of many youths and students who were seen standing either alone or silently, walking on the roads and chatting with each other. They were branded miscreants. Is this how police are dealing with protestors?” Santosh Arya, said a youth CPI(ML) leader.

A protester Suvendu Kumar, who is a Gen Z, expressed his anger over police actions against protestors and the release of their photos for public identification. “Are we (protesters) criminals or have we violated the Constitution by staging a protest, raising genuine voices and demanding the resignation of Pradhan? Police have been doing all this to create panic and terror among protesters. But we will continue to protest,we are not afraid of anything”, he said.

This is evident, as Kantesh Mishra, police chief (SSP) of Muzaffarpur district, has announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for identification of eight (8) protestors whom he termed as “miscreants” who were allegedly involved in the “violent protest and damage of public properties.”

On Thursday evening hundreds of youths and students staged protests in the premises of district magistrate office and at different places and on roads in Muzaffarpur. Protesters and police clashed as well and police claimed that protesters damage public properties. Police have warned to imposed a fine and will recover the cost of damage from miscreants.

Although in the past three days, protests spread to over a dozen districts in the state, police resorted to lathicharge and tear gas in Patna, Katihar, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Begusarai and opened fire in Jehanabad to disperse the protestors on Thursday. On Friday, too, protests were reported in several districts.

In Patna, police arrested 58 protestors and released photos of 60 alleged miscreants.

The protest march in Patna witnessed a large gathering of youths and students led by All India Students’ Association or AISA, the student body of CPI(ML), supported by other organisations. Police tried to stop protestors at different places which resulted in clashes leaving several protesters and police personnel injured. Lathicharge, water cannons, tear gas and barricades were used by police.

According to a senior police officer at police headquarters here, police have been instructed from the top to take strict action against protesters. The release of photos and a reward are part of a strategy to create a sense of fear among protestors and to crush them.

“This has never happened before, that police have released photos of protestors like criminals for their identification. We had actively participated in several andolans, agitations and protests but our photos were never released in public. This shows a different mindset of those heading the government”, said Satyanaratan Madan, who as a youth took part in the JP movement against the Emergency in the mid-70s.

Bihar first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief minister Samrat Choudhary, who completed 100 days in office on July 24, is reportedly given a free hand to police to tackle the protestors and use force against them. He is well known for police encounters and bulldozer actions to replicate Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s governance model.

Left student organisations have called a Bihar Bandh on July 25 to protest against police action against protestors, including lathicharge, police firing and arrest. Police arrested dozens of members of AISA and CPI(ML) MLA Sandeep Saurav on Friday night, ahead of Saturday shutdown.

In Patna, security forces have been deployed all around include at all nook and corners, main roads and even schools, hospitals, railway stations. Drones are being used for surveillance of protestors.

Opposition MLAs have raised the issue of police action against protesting youth on Friday in the Bihar Assembly on the last day of the Monsoon session.

Opposition RJD,CPI(M),CPI,VIP have extended support to Bihar Bandh of AISA.

Reports coming from Muzaffarpur,Gaya,Bhojpur,Aurangabad,Bhagalpur,Katihar,Vaishali,Bhagalpur, Purnea, said the shutdown hit normal life. In Patna also protestors took to streets despite a crackdown against student leaders, with nearly a dozen of them arrested.

The BJP-led government has deployed 14 companies of para military forces, thousands of Bihar police and home guards.