Bihar transfers 18 IPS officers after AK-47 protest controversy and police shooting case

The Bihar government on Tuesday transferred 18 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, including the Superintendents of Police of Siwan and Bhojpur districts, following recent controversies over police actions in both areas. The transfers, effective immediately, were announced in a notification from the state Home Department.

The reshuffle moved Siwan SP Puran Kumar Jha to the waiting list at Bihar Police Headquarters in Patna. The action comes weeks after a violent student protest on July 25 in Siwan, during which a police constable was filmed firing an AK47 assault rifle into the air. The government informed the Supreme Court that the constable, Abhishek Kumar, fired after being "trapped and surrounded by protesters." Officials stated the aerial firing did not injure anyone at the scene, though three protesters elsewhere in the district sustained minor gunshot wounds from a police pistol. Constable Kumar was subsequently suspended.

The government's affidavit to the Supreme Court noted the AK47 is classified as a "platoon-level weapon" intended for special operations, not routine law-and-order situations. The July 25 protests had erupted over alleged irregularities in the NEET...