‘Trapped’ constable fired AK-47 during NEET protest: Bihar Police to Supreme Court

The Bihar Police said it was not taking coercive measures against students without any criminal antecedents. File. | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Bihar Police told the Supreme Court in an affidavit on Monday (August 18, 2026) that a police constable “trapped” in the crowd during the Bihar students’ NEET-UG paper leak protests and ensuing violence fired four rounds from his AK-47 rifle in the air.“No one was injured from the bullets of the AK-47,” the affidavit said.Though agreeing that the AK-47 is a “platoon-level weapon used in special operations” and not used in “law-and-order situations”, the Bihar Police still maintained that excessive force was not used and the crowd was met with “utmost restraint”.The affidavit said another police officer had fired his 9mm pistol to “disperse the mob”.The police admitted that “three protesters suffered minor firearm injuries” without explaining whether they were injured in the 9mm pistol shooting or separately.The affidavit clarified that the injuries were, however, not caused by the AK-47. The injured protesters were given the “best possible treatment”, the police said.“Ballistic examination is being carried out to ascertain the type of weapon, distance of fire, angle of fire, etc,” the affidavit said.The police said that detailed instructions regarding the use of AK-47s had already been issued by the Director General of Police on August 1, ostensibly to prevent such incidents.“Thus, it is respectfully submitted that the State and its agencies have maintained utmost restraint and have not used any disproportionate force to cause any harm to the protestors,” the affidavit said.On the other hand, it pointed out that protesters have severely damaged public property, and officials involved in maintaining law and order were deliberately attacked by anti-social elements who joined the protest.Also read: Bihar DGP bans use of automatic, assault weapons by policemen to control law and orderThe police said electronic evidence, including CCTV footage, videography, etc., has been preserved.Further, detailed instructions were given to police personnel to preserve the personal information and digital data of protesters/students collected during the protests and not to disclose them in any public domain or on social media for the “time being”.The police said it was not taking coercive measures against students without any criminal antecedents. Instructions have been given to release students under 18 years of age reported to be arrested or detained. Published - August 18, 2026 12:33 am IST