Representatives of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) held talks with government officials on Monday night over their demand for the withdrawal of cases filed against people who participated in protests over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.
According to the CJP, government officials assured the delegation that no punitive action would be taken against those who participated in peaceful demonstrations. They also handed over notifications issued by the Assam and Bihar governments regarding the withdrawal of cases.
"Government representatives met us. The meeting lasted for 2–3 hours. They shared copies of the Bihar and Assam notifications guaranteeing FIR withdrawals, no future legal action, and the release of all detainees and those arrested," CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said in a post on X.
Das added that the officials reiterated their commitment to issuing similar guarantee notifications from the Union government and other BJP/NDA-ruled states by Tuesday.
"Hopefully, the agreed-upon language shall be used. No protester will be left alone. We are all in this together," he said.
Both Assam and Bihar have announced that they will withdraw all cases and legal proceedings initiated against NEET protesters.
In Assam, five cases were registered and 13 people were arrested in connection with the protests.
"No adverse legal action will be initiated by any police authority in the state against persons who participated in these protests," the Assam government said in its notification.
"With regard to arrests and detentions already made in the registered cases, the process of reviewing the arrests and releasing those detained will be initiated expeditiously," the notification added.
Earlier, the Bihar government also announced that it would withdraw all cases filed against protesters over the alleged NEET paper leak and release those jailed in connection with the demonstrations.
According to Bihar Police, a total of 694 people were detained during the Bihar bandh called on July 25 by pro-Left students' unions. Of these, 339 minors were released, while the remaining 355 were booked under relevant legal provisions and were facing trial before the courts.
In Bihar, the unrest began on July 22 when a procession taken out by activists of AISA managed to reach the vicinity of the chief minister's residence. Those arrested included CPI(ML) Liberation MLA Sandeep Saurav who was picked up a day prior to the bandh, and former state minister Tej Pratap Yadav who was taken into custody on Saturday evening for trying to enforce the shutdown.
