Video: Bihar officer hit by iron weight during NEET protest, suffers skull fracture

A Block Development Officer (BDO) in Bihar's Chhapra sustained critical head injuries after being struck on the head by a cast iron block weight during violent protests on July 25 over the NEET paper leak controversy and demands for the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.A newly surfaced video of the incident shows the officer, Ritesh Kumar Singh, being hit by the heavy object before immediately collapsing onto the road as blood gushes from his head. Officials later evacuated him from the protest site as clashes continued. Singh suffered a skull fracture and has since undergone multiple surgeries.The protests turned violent after thousands of demonstrators, along with alleged miscreants, gathered in Chhapra city, vandalising public property, damaging government vehicles and pelting stones at police and administrative officials deployed to maintain law and order.The situation had begun to ease after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned later that afternoon. However, fresh violence erupted in Chhapra at around 4 pm, when Singh was on law-and-order duty alongside Bihar Police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel. According to officials, protesters suddenly launched another round of stone-pelting, forcing police and ITBP personnel to retreat. Singh, who was moving away from the area on foot, was not wearing protective gear such as a helmet or body armour when he was struck.While initial reports attributed his injuries to stone-pelting, police later recovered a cast iron block weight (bat), commonly used by vegetable vendors, from the spot where Singh collapsed. Officials believe the object was hurled at him during the violence, causing the grievous head injury. Singh was first rushed to a nearby hospital before being referred to a higher facility in Patna due to the severity of his injuries. Medical scans revealed a severe skull fracture, prompting emergency surgery.He remains in critical condition and is undergoing treatment at the Patna hospital, officials said.The July 25 protest over alleged examination irregularities witnessed widespread violence in parts of Bihar. In Chhapra, protesters allegedly attacked security personnel, torched government vehicles and damaged public property, prompting police to register multiple criminal cases and launch efforts to identify those responsible.- EndsPublished On: Jul 28, 2026 08:08 IST