The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) called off student protests at Jantar Mantar after receiving assurances, among other things, that no criminal cases would be pursued against protesters across the country. And yet, police in various parts of the country booked protesters on various charges, including attempt-to-murder. 

The majority of the cases were in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, states where the BJP is in power. After the CJP threatened to revive their sit-in on Monday over reports of such police action, the Bihar and Assam governments said all cases will be dropped and protesters detained before 6 pm on July 26 will be released. West Bengal is yet to announce any such action. 

Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister was just the first of four demands put forward by the CJP at the start of the protest. When the government accepted the CJP’s demands, Union minister JP Nadda had unambiguously stated that cases filed so far would be withdrawn nationwide. “The core of their four-point requirement was that no action or FIRs should be taken, and if any exist, they should be withdrawn whether filed by Delhi police or in any BJP-ruled state. We will provide them copies of those FIRs, and upon withdrawal, no further action will be pursued,” Nadda said.

On the ground, however, things looked different. 

Assam  

Arif-ul Islam, a 28-year-old law graduate and practising lawyer, was at a petrol pump in Chachal in Guwahati, Assam, when police made a random stop and inquiry. Chachal is a designated area where protests had been taking place, including on July 22. Arif had gone to drop a friend and was not part of the protest. "The police asked him what he was doing in the area. He identified himself and showed them his bar ID and other documents proving his identity. The police detained him and registered his arrest at 9 pm," said Aman Wadud, who represents Arif. 

In the arrest memo, the police said that Arif was found to be allegedly “leading, inciting and instigating protests”. He was found at the site of the protest and was allegedly arguing with and obstructing on-duty police officers, it said.

The memo said investigations had revealed that many of the protesters were students, and the source and manner of potential funding had to be probed.  

The police claimed that they would investigate whether there was foreign funding involved to pursue the resignation of public functionaries. Wadud, meanwhile, maintained that Arif did not take part in the protest.

A Guwahati-based woman lawyer had been attempting to mobilise help for those who have been detained by the police. "I have received at least 200 calls just to my number; the police crackdown has been widespread,” she said. She also said that the police had been going to the houses of juvenile protesters and threatening them for participating. 

The lawyer said she was detained by the police while at a gathering on July 25, celebrating the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. She accused the police of physical and sexual assault. “I was holding a national flag. A male police officer snatched the flag from me, and when I asked to have it back, a female officer attempted to twist my fingers. The same officer later tried to choke me after detaining me in a police bus. A male officer also groped my breasts. It still hurts today,” she said. 

The FIRs had charged the protesters with assaulting public servants, unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy and promoting secessionist or separatist feelings.

Chinmoy Deka, a 24-year-old youth picked up by Assam police was accused of "leading and influencing the protest gathering" and obstructing police, according to a lawyer.

Bihar

Amidst a state-wide Bandh on July 25, called in support of the student protests in Jantar Mantar, a police constable was captured on video purportedly firing an AK 47 rifle into a crowd of protesters. The constable, according to reports, was posted with the District Intelligence Unit (DIU) and was suspended immediately but questions have been raised about the firing using an automatic rifle. 

There were also reports of widespread crackdowns on students. 

On the night of July 26, in Patna alone, 86 people were sent to judicial custody on account of serious charges, including attempt-to-murder and causing hurt to deter a public servant from doing their duty.

Multiple lawyers who were present before the magistrate said despite repeated requests, the police refused to provide FIR copies to protesters or their counsel.  

Patna police presented a large number of students before the judge in the midnight itself. They were brought to the judge's residence located at Chhajju Bagh in Patna. During this time, the number of students was around 200. On one side, the hearing was going on inside the judge's residence, while outside, the students' families were worried, waiting for their children to come out. However, after the hearing, the students were sent directly to Beur Central Jail in Patna. 

At least seven FIRs were filed against student protesters on July 22. Some of these FIRs name anywhere between 80 and 90 people, lawyers said.

In Bihar, the first large-scale protest occurred on July 22. At 10 am, protesters gathered in large numbers at Gate number 10 of the Gandhi Maidan in Patna. When the police locked the gates to stop the march, the protesters became unruly, breaking a section of the gate in the process. As the march progressed, many were arrested following a lathi charge. 

The police report at the Kotwali station in Patna on July 22 stated the following: “Around 04:30 pm, all the protesters (who had marched towards the Income Tax Roundabout) returned to Dakbungalow Crossing and, in a pre-planned manner, began vandalising vehicles passing through the crossing and physically assaulting the occupants. Efforts were made to reason with and stop the aggressive crowd in the procession, but the individuals in the crowd refused to listen to the administration. Instead, they became further agitated, tearing down banners and posters outside nearby shops, looting inside the shops, snatching items from the public, and pelting bricks and stones at them, creating an atmosphere of fear and panic among the public,” it said.

This complaint named 93 individuals, including sitting member of the legislative council Shashi Yadav, as well as student leaders of the All India Students Association (AISA), Disha Students’ Organisation (DSO) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist).  

As per FIRs registered on July 22 by Sachivalay and Kotwali police stations, protesters had been booked for unlawful assembly and damaging public property.

On July 25, the protesters gathered at the Gandhi Maidan, leading to another round of arrests. “Some students who were inclined towards violent activities or were troublemakers pelted stones and left. Peaceful protesters, including several students from classes 9 and 10, were arrested. They have been kept at the police station since yesterday afternoon until now,” said Varuni Kumari, a leader of the DSO. She estimated that more than 250 students remain in police custody as of July 26. On July 27, the police named 145 accused. The rest, many of them juveniles and women protesters, were let off. 

According to the FIR, rioting charges and unlawful assembly charges were slapped on protesters because the Model Code of Conduct was in effect in this area due to the Bankipore Assembly By-Election.

“Many of these students were simply on their way to coaching classes or had just stepped out, and were picked up. Without any consideration, genuine students who were not involved in any such activity were picked up. Right now, many parents don't even know where their children are,” she said. She also alleged that as of 10 pm on July 26, those in custody have not been provided copies of FIRs or  produced before the magistrate. 

“Gradually, approximately 5,000 individuals armed with lathis (sticks), rods, banners, and posters gathered around Gandhi Maidan, Exhibition Road, SP Verma Road, Bakarganj Road, Kargil Chowk, and other connecting routes and began vandalising property and staging demonstrations. This happened between 9 am and 5 pm,” the FIR said. Student leaders who were on the ground, however, maintained that the protest was dominated by students and that it was police violence that led to the situation worsening. 

“From the facts above, it is self-evident that despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force, assembling unlawfully without permission pursuant to a criminal conspiracy, conducting violent protests continuously for 7–8 hours, and launching life-threatening attacks on police when stopped,” the FIR said. It did not clarify what aspects of the protest constitute a conspiracy. 

The police invoked sections related to attempt-to-murder and rioting, apart from disobedience to orders by a public servant in the FIRs.

On the evening of July 27, following widespread criticism the Bihar government issued a clarification stating that it would not pursue actions against any protester arrested before 6 pm on July 26 Sunday and that all cases registered until now would be withdrawn. 

In the timespan between July 25 noon when JP Nadda promised no action against protesters and evening of Monday, arrests and processing of inmates continued with many currently lodged in jails including the Beur jail in Patna.

Bengal

In Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendhu Adhikari called the protesters Jamaati fundamentalists who want to weaken India and create chaos. ‘None of these people belong to the movement. They are not students, they are goons,” he said, vowing strict action. 

In the aftermath of a protest in Kolkata on July 25, Saturday, 14 persons were arrested by the Bengal police, 13 of whom were Muslim. The arrested are Mohammed Alamgir, Dipak Bhowmick, Zamir Ahmed, Mohsin Khan, Mohammed Moinuddin, Arshad Ali, Khalid Raza, Imran Ahmed, Irfan Kurshid, Mohammed Johiruddin Mal, Sheikh Mohammad Salman Hussein, Shahbaz Khan, Mohammad Afroz and Mohammad Azad. The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026, commonly known as the Goonda Act, was invoked against these individuals. 

The Goondas Act, invoked against the protesters, provides for preventive detention of persons involved in anti-social activities or those likely to engage in such activities. The Act allows the state to keep individuals in preventive detention for up to a year, without trial. 

The Act has been challenged in the Calcutta High Court through Public Interest Litigation, but on July 12, the court refused an urgent hearing on the matter.

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