[Breaking] Patna High Court Grants Bail To Five Students Arrested In Connection With RRB NTPC Exam Protests

The Patna High Court on Thursday granted bail to students arrested in connection with Bihar’s NTPC Railway Protests. 

Petitioners booked for 'attempt to murder' 

A case was registered against the petitioners for the offences punishable under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The offences mainly deal with rioting, unlawful assembly, causing grievous hurt and an attempt to murder. Section 27 of the Arms Act which specifies punishment for using arms and Section 174(A) of the Railway Act which talks about obstructing a running train during a rail roko agitation were also invoked by the Police against the petitioners.

This was in line with multiple student arrests being made by the Bihar police on allegations of inciting mass protests, rioting and assaulting police officials. 

Petitioners came with armed weapons: Prosecution

As per the prosecution story, the petitioners came to the Sitamarhi Railway Station with weapons as part of a mob. They allegedly blocked the freight train (Malgadi) on the morning of January 25, 2022.  The police officials claimed that their efforts to convince the crowd went in vain as the crowd became violent. As per the prosecution, the crowd started throwing stones at the police officials leading to injuries to three police officers.  The police then chased the protesters and had to fire 2-3 rounds to control the crowd and arrested 13 protesters including the petitioners.

No arms recovered from petitioners: Petitoners' counsel

Rebutting the claims of the police officials, the counsel for the petitioner Kumar Shanu argued that the petitioners have not committed the offences mentioned in the FIR. Pointing out that there are no prior criminal records against them, the petitioners claimed that they have been falsely implicated in the case to hide the failure on the part of government authorities.

Responding to a specific allegation concerning the assault on police officers during protests, the petitioners through their counsel stated that neither the FIR copy is substantiated with any injury report nor any arms were recovered by the police.

In view of the submissions before the court, the factual matrix of the case and the circumstances, the Patna High Court granted bail to the petitioners.

Protests over irregularities in RRB NTPC Exams

For the uninitiated, the controversy dates back to the month of January this year. Massive student protests erupted in the state of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh over alleged irregularities in the RRB NTPC exams. Thousands of students had taken to railway tracks to voice their displeasure over lack of transparency in the examination and hiring process. While the protests did turn violent at places, whether the right culprits have been identified in the present case, the court will decide in due course.