‘I am in Russia’: Bihar man claims he was booked in NEET protest case even when abroad for 4 months

“On July 24, there was a protest at LRP Chowk, and the Bahadurganj administration named me in that," Sadaqat says in purported video.

A man has claimed in a viral video that police in Kishanganj district of Bihar have booked him in connection with last week's protests against NEET paper leak even when he's been in Russia for the past four months.

“On the 24th (of July), there was a protest against the NEET leek, at LRP Chowk, and the Bahadurganj administration have named me in that. I have been in Russia for the past four months,” the man identifying himself as Muhammad Sadaqat, resident of Ward 12 of the town, says in the video shared by multiple handles.

“Since I am in Russia, I request the administration to remove my name from there. I will remain indebted to the administration for this,” he adds, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday.

Though the video has gone viral on social media, news agency PTI noted that could not independently verify its authenticity; nor can HT. A number of handles linked the man's Muslim identity to why he was booked “without even checking his other details properly”. Many on X joked using a popular meme line: “Bihar is not for beginners!”

However, Kishanganj superintendent of police Hari Mohan Shukla, when contacted by PTI, neither confirmed nor denied the claim of such a man having been booked. “All those who have any grievances related to the protests could approach the police for redressal,” the SP said when specifically asked about Sadaqat's purported video.

The official X handle of the state police had also responded to the video and said it would be looked into. But that post has since disappeared, possibly been deleted.

The Bihar government led by BJP's Samrat Choudhary has said it will withdraw all cases against protesting students. This came after the Cockroach Janta Party, which sparked the major protests from Delhi that led to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Union education minister, the Congress-led Opposition at the Centre and student unions such as AISA made the demand.

A notification by the state home department said the government was withdrawing “all FIRs, complaints and show-cause notices issued in connection with incidents that took place before 6 am on July 26”. Persons arrested in this connection will also, therefore, be released forthwith, the department said.

A total of 694 persons, nearly half of them minors, were detained for allegedly attempting to enforce the state-wide bandh called last week to protest against the paper leak.

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