Water cannon, tug of war and a stolen gate: Patna NEET protest goes viral

NEW DELHI: Students protesting the NEET paper leak in Patna turned a tense demonstration into a viral moment, when they asked police to use water cannons because of the heat, and then danced as officers sprayed them. The protest, organised by the All India Students' Association, an affiliate of CPI(ML) Liberation, demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities. As marchers made their way towards Raj Bhavan, police set up barricades near Gandhi Maidan, about three kilometres from the Governor's residence. Protest clips go viral In a video that has since gone viral, students can be heard telling police: "Sir, do you not have arrangements for a water cannon, it's too hot here." Police responded by spraying water at the crowd. Rather than taking cover, many students began dancing on the spot, a moment social media users have now made viral. Other viral moments from the protest showed students playing tug of war with police rope. In another clip, protesters were seen picking up and running away with police barricades meant to block them. There were also reports of students unscrewing a gate and taking it with them. The clip triggered a wave of jokes and memes online. One widely shared comment read, "E Jantar Mantar nahin hai babu, ye Bihar hai" — "This isn't Delhi's Jantar Mantar, sir, this is Bihar." Another quipped that experiencing tear gas would now require "a trip to Delhi." Some even compared the scene to a Holi celebration. A BJP leader arrived at the protest site in Patna to disrupt the demonstration. Students recognised him from the flag he was holding and beat him. Police later arrived and rescued the BJP leader. Reports of police brutality The light-hearted moment was accompanied with multiple instances of police brutality. Police resorted to a baton charge, fired tear gas shells and deployed water cannons as a way to block the protesters. CPI(ML) Liberation MLA Sandeep Sourav, a former AISA national general secretary, was leading the procession. "We are on the streets to bring the Modi government back to its senses. Our demand is that in the wake of the brutal suppression of the Jantar Mantar protests, not only Pradhan but also Union Home Minister Amit Shah tender his resignation," he told PTI. The issue also rocked the state legislative council, with RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh voicing anguish over the "brutal police action." Other opposition members joined in, prompting a walkout by the entire opposition after a heated exchange.