PATNA: Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) national president Tej Pratap Yadav was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody on Sunday in connection with a case registered over a protest at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan amid the NEET-UG paper leak controversy.Yadav was detained by Bihar Police on Saturday after he joined students protesting over the NEET paper leak during a Bihar Bandh call in Patna.His advocate Jagannath Singh said a bail application could be processed on Monday and alleged irregularities in the process leading up to Yadav’s arrest.“An FIR was filed on July 26, whereas the arrest took place on the July 25, at 7:30 pm, from the city centre mall. I just submitted an application to the judge for his release.
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He told me to process the bail demand on Monday. I reached Naubatpur police station at 10:30 am. There were 2 SPs there. I asked them the reason behind his arrest. His family members don’t even know that he was under arrest since 7:30 pm. We still haven’t gotten the copy of the FIR,” Singh told reporters.Veena Manvi, JJD candidate for the Bankipur by-election, questioned the timing and motive of the police action, alleging that party leaders had faced persistent “torture” since the beginning of the campaign.She said she herself was arrested shortly after filing her nomination papers for the Bankipur Assembly seat.“I don’t want to say anything. We’ve been tortured since the 13th. First, they (police) picked me on nomination day, then they picked him today. It seems like the entire Bankipur district is now dependent on the Janshakti Janata Dal. What’s wrong if we protest a little?… What crime did he commit? If the national flag was shown once among the children, was that a crime? And even if there was a crime in your opinion, they should have taken him away right then and there. But what’s the point in picking him up when he was having family time in the evening, going shopping? I also do not know the reason behind this.”While being detained, Yadav backed the protesting students and urged the government to address their concerns.“The children’s demands are legitimate. The government must fulfil their demands, and we stand firmly with them. I am ready to lay down my life for the students and youth,” Yadav told reporters.The action came after violence broke out between law enforcement personnel and protesters in Patna on Saturday during a statewide shutdown called by several opposition parties and social organisations over the NEET paper leak controversy and recent police actions against student agitators.A traffic police booth was allegedly vandalised during the protest in Patna. The demonstration turned tense after a clash between police and protesters, with stone-pelting also reported. Police resorted to firing tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.Demonstrations were held across Bihar following the ‘Bihar Bandh’ call over the ongoing NEET examination issue, with students demanding reforms in the education system and action over alleged irregularities in the examination process.Protesters also demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and vandalised and toppled police vehicles during the protest in Patna, prompting police mobilisation across affected areas.Pradhan has stepped down following nationwide student protests over the NEET paper leak.Announcing his resignation, Pradhan said he had submitted it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the interest of students and to ensure that the ongoing protests over examination irregularities were not exploited by “anti-national forces.”Union Minister Pralhad Joshi was assigned charge of the Ministry of Education after President Droupadi Murmu accepted Pradhan’s resignation from the Union Council of Ministers.(With ANI inputs)
