Patna student dies over last year Dandiya argument

A student of BN College in Patna was beaten to death at the campus of Sultanganj Law College by masked men on May 27. The police have arrested the main accused and discovered that both the victim and the accused were engaged in a fight during the Dandiya night last year.

The victim was identified as Harsh Raj, a third-year student of vocational English at BN College. He went to take the examinations at Sultanganj Law College, where he was attacked by masked men armed with sticks. The police reached the spot and rushed him to the hospital, where he died during treatment.

City SP (East) Bharat Soni said, "A heinous crime took place on the law college campus on May 27. Some anti-social elements beat up a student, Harsh Raj, so badly that he died. We formed a special investigation team. The main accused has been arrested. His name is Chandan Yadav, a final-year student at Patna College. He has admitted to the crime, and we are working to catch the other accused.”

He added, "There was a brawl between two groups, and the tension persisted, which led to the planning of this attack. This is a clear case under Section 302 (murder).” A dispute during last year's Dussehra at a dandiya event set off the attack.

Social media users are sharing a video of the incident, which shows Harsh Raj being mercilessly beaten by his attackers as he tries to defend himself.

Posting a picture with Harsh, Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary stated that no amount of criticism of the attack is enough. Concerning this incident, he said, “I've spoken with the authorities. The accused must be arrested soon. In this difficult time, the government is standing with the family.”

The tragedy intensified political tensions ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Bihar. "This is very unfortunate. The law-and-order situation has been worse by the day ever since the NDA government was formed. They have no control over the administration. The accused must be arrested soon and face strict punishment," RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said. He added, “If this had happened in our term, they would have hit the streets and shouted 'jungleraj'. Where are they now? What are they doing?”