A 6-year-old boy has become the centre of attention on social media after he turned up at the youth protest in Patna on Tuesday.
Several videos of the boy, raising slogans against the Bihar government and demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister, have gone viral.
However, a particular video of him being removed by the police from the protest site has drawn widespread criticism, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) slamming the cops for "detaining" a six-year-old.
Minutes later, police personnel, including some women cops, are seen taking the boy and his mother from the protest site.
During the protest, the child was simply taken outside the protest area," Kundan Krishnan, DG Operations, told Times Now.
A 6-year-old boy has become the centre of attention on social media after he turned up at the youth protest in Patna on Tuesday. Several videos of the boy, raising slogans against the Bihar government and demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister, have gone viral. However, a particular video of him being removed by the police from the protest site has drawn widespread criticism, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) slamming the cops for "detaining" a six-year-old.
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The boy turned up at Patna's Dak Bungalow crossing as hundreds of students protested over alleged irregularities in the 70th BPSC (Bihar Public Service Commission) exam. Chaos erupted as the protesters attempted to gherao Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary's residence, with police using water cannons and lathi charge to disperse the students.
With a tricolour in his hand, the boy is seen raising slogans over unemployment and demanding the resignation of the chief minister. "Why aren't students getting jobs? Where did your promises of jobs and employment go, Samrat Choudhary? He should step down," the 6-year-old is heard saying. In another video, he is seen asserting that he doesn't mind facing police action.
Minutes later, police personnel, including some women cops, are seen taking the boy and his mother from the protest site. India Today, however, could not verify the circumstances in which the child was picked up by the police or the date of the footage.
Police said claims that the child was detained were misleading. "The child was not detained. During the protest, the child was simply taken outside the protest area," Kundan Krishnan, DG Operations, told Times Now.
VIDEO OF BOY SPARKS MASSIVE OUTRAGE
However, the incident sparked massive outrage on social media after the video was shared by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and was amplified by Abhijeet Dipke, the AAP and the Congress. The parties have raised questions over the police handling of the situation.
"World's largest democracy detaining a 6-year-old! Won't be surprised if they start raiding sperm banks next," Dipke, whose CJP spearheaded the student protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar last month, tweeted.
The Cockroach party said that instead of fixing the education system, the Bihar government found "detaining six-year-olds" a convenient fix to the problem. "Where are we even headed?" the CJP said.
Former Delhi minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia also shared the video and trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "harassing" the child.
"Modi ji, look at the mess you have done to the country. Your police are harassing a six-year-old child for holding a poster demanding the PM's resignation. This is extremely shameful," Sisodia said.
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The Congress-affiliated NSUI also condemned the incident. "Even five-year-old children in this country have risen against these thieves," it said in a post on X.
The incident comes against the backdrop of youth anger against the Bihar government over alleged exam paper leaks, the proposed format of the Teacher Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE-4), and a "lack" of transparency in recruitment system.
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