Why did Bihar cop fire AK-47? State govt tells Supreme Court he was 'trapped in crowd'

A cop in Bihar was caught on camera using AK-47 rifle while dispersing students gathered to protest against the irregularities in government examination amid massive Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest in New Delhi last month. Now, the state government has told the Supreme Court that he fired four rounds from an AK-47 into the air after he got "trapped" in a crowd. The cop was identified as Abhishek Patel who is a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constable. He was put into suspension after video of the incident went viral. The action by the cop was taken after violence broke out between students and Bihar Police on Saturday amid ‘Bihar Bandh’, called by student organisations and opposition groups. "

"No one was injured from the bullets of the AK-47," the Bihar government said in an affidavit filed before the top court. The State also said no protestors were injured due to the weapon use. The affidavit filed on Aug 17 also stated that three protesters "suffered minor firearms injuries" due to the police action but these injuries were “neither caused by AK 47, nor the persons were located at the place where the constable fired from AK47.” The state added that Kumar has been suspended for "undesired conduct" and faces departmental proceedings, and that an AK-47 "is a platoon level weapon" meant for special operations, not law and order duty.

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What SC said on police excesses?

This comes after the Supreme Court on Monday (Jul 27) said that “mere agitation can't be grounds for police excesses.” The top court urged forces to use “self-evolved discipline” in times of protest. It also emphasized that the Indian Constitution grants the right to protest to all citizens. "Right to peaceful protest is absolutely guaranteed. That cannot be denied. Merely because there is agitation cannot justify police excess. Just because there is an agitation does not mean there should be lathi charge. Self- evolved discipline is needed which is essential to democratic process," the CJI remarked. He also called for a uniformed protocol on agitations, and not just restricted to Delhi. “There should be a protocol in place. This is not a question of Delhi only. Uniformity of protocol is needed. There should be proper space and no restriction. But if there is some anti-social elements etc that can be taken care of,” he said. "Life of every individual irrespective of who they are is important," said Justice Bagchi.