‘Treated worse than criminals’: Parents wait for students, teens detained for joining CJP protest to come home

Prateek Kumar was at his first protest ever. The second-year BTech Computer Science Engineering student of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Nagpur. In Patna for the summer, he had joined the Cockroach Janta Party protest in Patna on July 22. On July 25, he was detained by the police and remains in detention at the time of filing this story.

“My son was picked up on July 25 from Gandhi Maidan, Patna and has been accused of attempt to murder amongst other allegations. Similarly, 87 students have been arrested under one FIR. He was beaten badly as well. No first-aid or medicine has been given,” alleged Kumar's father, on phone from Patna with Academia360.

On July 27, Bihar Police said it will withdraw all cases filed against protesters before July 26, as part of the CJP’s agreement with the central government after which it called off the protest. A notice from the Bihar Government says, “No adverse legal action–punitive/retaliatory – shall be taken by the government against any individual participating in the protests before 6 PM on 26.07.2026, across the entire state.” However, Kumar is yet to be released and his father intimated about the status of the case.

Families and legal aid advocates say that those detained include students from different institutes and state universities. They allege that several protesters above the age of 18 have been taken into custody after multiple FIRs were filed after the demonstrations.

The CJP protest began at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and demanded the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protesters’ attempt to march to parliament on July 20 was met with extreme police action and brutality in Delhi, prompting further protests in cities across India. Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25 but the arrests and detentions continued.

Patna CJP Protest: 8 FIRs, 84 minors

Another family recounted the case of an 18-year-old second-year B.Com student of Patliputra University who, they claimed, was not participating in the protest at all but was still picked up.

The experience brought on a panic attack. “He was standing near the protest but did not participate. He froze after seeing scores of people followed by police personnel but was still taken to the police station. But due to a panic attack he is still in the hospital,” said a friend of the student.

According to Shashwat, an advocate associated with the legal aid efforts for the protesters, the arrests followed a march held in Patna on July 22.

“In the wake of the July 20 protest, there was a march in Patna on July 22. The protest started from Gandhi Maidan and went till Raj Bhawan. There was a humongous crowd,” he said.

Shashwat further alleged that on July 26, some of the detained students were produced before the Juvenile Justice court in the night.

“These arrests are arbitrary with procedural lapses. FIR copies have not been provided and the grounds of arrest have not been communicated. One of the FIRs has 84 minors named in it,” he said. “At midnight on July 26, proceedings took place at the judge's residence. The persons who have been sent to judicial custody are students, including those from universities.”

One of the advocates who represented one of the accused student leaders, further added, “Additional FIRs involving around 80 more protesters were registered in the wake of the July 25 statewide shutdown. Ironically, on the same day, CJP declared the withdrawal of the movement after negotiations with the government were successful.”

‘Good women shouldn’t be on roads’

Harsh Raj, a 20-year-old second-year BBA student at Vector College of Management, is also among those detained. “Police treated the protesters brutally,” his father said.

Priya Sharma, 19, an artist and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) aspirant, said she was among several young women detained at the protest site of Gandhi Maidan on July 25 and later released. “We were seated on the ground. First, I was dragged by a male police officer. Another person I was sitting with was also dragged,” Sharma said. “We were kept at the police station for around two-and-a-half hours and told we would be released. Instead, we were taken to another police station.”

She said that the group was subsequently moved to Shankar Bagh police station where their phones were confiscated.

“At Shankar Bagh police station, our phones were taken. We had no contact with our parents. After six hours, we were told we would be taken to Gandhi Maidan police station but were moved elsewhere again. Some boys who were with us were put in a cell. At around 11:30 pm, we were given food and informed that we would be released on July 26,” she said. “Eight girls slept on the floor in a room with no mattress and we were released at 3:30 pm. Students are being treated worse than criminals. Criminals get one chance to call their parents or relatives. They kept minors in detention after 8 pm and took girls away without a clear explanation.”

Sharma alleged that police personnel recorded videos of detainees without their consent.

“At the police station, our videos were taken while we were crying. We were tortured mentally and blamed for everything,” she said. “A female police constable said it was because of us that others were arrested, that if women are raped, it's good, and that good women shouldn't be on the roads.”