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.
The affidavit clarified that the injuries were, however, not caused by the AK-47. 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.
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 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 electronic evidence, including CCTV footage, videography, etc., has been preserved.
