India’s brutal ‘savage state terror’ on Bihar students condemned
New Delhi: Peaceful student protests in Bihar against the NEET paper leak scandal were met with what opposition leaders have termed “savage state terror” under the NDA regime, as police continued register cases against thousands of demonstrators.
According to Kashmir Media Service, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav said that police in Siwan opened fire directly at unarmed students, with at least 3 students sustaining bullet injuries after police reportedly fired 10 rounds.
Yadav said hundreds of students have been brutalized across multiple districts for demanding accountability over the examination paper leak, which he called a massive failure of the Modi government’s education system.
Police have registered 27 FIRs in connection with the protests. Officials said 93 students have been arrested so far, while over 2,000 unidentified protesters have been named in cases. Thousands of others have also been booked, effectively criminalizing young demonstrators for seeking transparency in the examination process.
In Patna alone, police filed FIRs against 268 named individuals and 2,500 unidentified persons. Reports said dozens to over 100 students were detained during crackdowns that involved lathi-charges, tear gas shelling and aerial firing.Political analysts and rights observers said the use of force against students highlights a growing pattern of suppression of dissent in India. They said a government that deploys AK-47s against its own youth, fails to deliver exam reforms, and responds to peaceful protests with mass arrests is pushing the country toward authoritarianism.
“Students are not terrorists. They are victims of a broken system that cheats them of their futures while those in power protect the corrupt,” Yadav said. The opposition has demanded immediate withdrawal of cases against students, release of all detainees, and a judicial probe into the NEET paper leak and the police action against protesters. The developments in Bihar have drawn sharp criticism, with observers saying the bloodshed and arrests have exposed the deepening crisis in India’s education and democratic institutions.
