Patna: Police headquarters on Monday suspended Abhishek Patel, a police constable and bodyguard of Siwan SP Puran Jha, with immediate effect after a viral video purportedly showed him firing at student protesters with an AK-47 assault rifle during the Bihar bandh on July 25.The Bihar bandh called to protest over alleged NEET paper leak and demand of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, led to massive unrest across the state. Clashes, stone-pelting and lathicharge were reported from 11 districts, with the worst violence in Siwan, where police firing injured three students, said police officials.Among the injured students, two suffered graze wounds on the neck, while one sustained a bullet wound in the thigh. All were sent to Patna for treatment. Their condition is stable.In Siwan, tension ran high during the protest. Police alleged that some protesters climbed onto the stage built at Gandhi Maidan and started pelting stones at police. To control the crowd, police first fired tear gas shells and then carried out a lathicharge to disperse them. After the police action, protesters scattered to different parts of the town.During the stone-pelting, SP Puran Jha also suffered an injury on his hand. It was amid this chaos that the SP’s bodyguard allegedly opened fire with an AK-47.ADG (Law and Order) K Suhita Anupam said the Bihar Police had shown maximum restraint in dealing with the protesters. Only when antisocial elements intervened and the protest turned into an unlawful assembly, minimum force was used to disperse the mob.“Taking note of the Siwan firing incident, police headquarters sought a detailed report on the entire incident. After preliminary verification of the video, the constable Patel was suspended with immediate effect. A departmental inquiry has also been initiated against him. Further action will be taken based on the inquiry report,” she said.Police said raids are on to identify other people involved in the violence and stone-pelting during the bandh.
