Bihar drops FIRs against NEET protesters, excludes those with ‘criminal antecedents’
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Photo: IANS
New Delhi: The Bihar Police has started the process of withdrawing FIRs registered against protesters involved in the NEET paper leak agitation across the state. According to *The Indian Express*, 64 FIRs had been filed, including 27 in Patna and six each in Saran and Siwan, with the remaining cases spread across 15 other districts.
The move follows a directive issued by Bihar Advocate General SD Sanjay, who wrote to district magistrates and public prosecutors on Tuesday instructing them to implement the state government's decision to withdraw all cases registered against protesting NEET-UG students before 6 pm on July 26, 2026.
The report said the police were withdrawing only those cases that had been filed by police personnel, while complaints lodged by private individuals would continue to remain in force, The Wire reported.
During the course of the agitation, Bihar Police arrested or detained 694 people. Of them, 339 were minors who were subsequently released, while 355 people continue to remain in custody.
Police officials also clarified that cases involving individuals with criminal antecedents would not be withdrawn. Authorities in Siwan said 21 such cases remained pending in the district, which had earlier drawn attention over the alleged use of AK-47 rifles against unarmed protesters.
A senior police officer told The Indian Express that investigators possessed sufficient video footage and other evidence against those with criminal backgrounds. The officer maintained that such individuals were not connected to the student protests and had been identified through the investigation.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation disputed the police's position, alleging that several arrests had been made arbitrarily. A senior party leader claimed that many activists of the All India Students' Association were still in jail and argued that the police's assertions could not be accepted until all such detainees were released.