A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking either the formation of a special investigating team (SIT) under the guidance of a retired apex court judge or a directive to the CBI to probe the incident that occurred on July 13 in Patna.
The incident involved the death of a BJP leader during their participation in a march against the Nitish Kumar government.
The deceased BJP leader, Vijay Singh, was from Jehanabad district and had died during a “Vidhan Sabha march.” Party leaders claimed that he was killed in a brutal police lathi charge, while the district administration in Patna released a brief statement stating that no injury marks were found on his body.
The “Vidhan Sabha march” was organized in support of protests against the state government’s teacher recruitment policy. It commenced from Gandhi Maidan in Patna and was halted a few kilometers away from the assembly premises.
The plea, filed in the apex court by Bhupesh Narayan, a resident of Bihar, also seeks an investigation into the roles played by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and other officials, including Bihar’s Director General of Police, in allegedly protecting the actual perpetrators of the incident that occurred during the peaceful procession organized by the Bharatiya Janata Party on July 13.
The plea emphasized that the police have a constitutional obligation to uphold the rule of law and maintain law and order. It stated that peaceful processions, marches, or demonstrations against government policies are recognized methods of protest in a democratic country. The plea further asserted that the misuse of power against Indian citizens constitutes a serious violation of fundamental rights and poses a threat to public safety.
According to the petition, the members of the procession were deliberately surrounded by the police, leading to the use of lathi charges, water cannons, and tear gas shells, resulting in a chaotic situation. It alleged that the “police brutality and atrocity” ultimately caused Singh’s death.
