Political tension bubbled over in Patna Wednesday after police detained RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav while he was leading protests against the use of an AK-47 assault rifle at a students-led protest in Siwan district last month.

Yadav was detained near the Income Tax office while marching towards Lok Bhavan. He was subsequently taken away in a police vehicle.

The protest was linked to the broader student agitation in Bihar over the alleged NEET paper leak and the police action against the protesters.

The march came a day after the Bihar government transferred Siwan Superintendent of Police Puran Kumar Jha as part of a reshuffle involving 18 IPS officers. Jha’s transfer followed violent student protests in Siwan on July 25, during which a policeman was seen firing an AK-47 into the air.

Three people sustained bullet injuries and several police personnel, including Jha, were injured during the protest. Police subsequently registered three FIRs based on statements from the injured civilians, while a constable seen using the AK-47 was suspended. However, police maintained that no one was injured in the aerial firing from the assault rifle.

According to Jha around eight to 10 rounds were fired during the violence, including four rounds from long-range weapons and three from pistols, while the source of the remaining firing was being investigated. He also said it was unclear whether the three civilians had been injured in police firing.

The Siwan protests came amid student agitation over allegations of a NEET paper leak and earlier police action against protesters. The violence had led to clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement personnel.

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Yadav’s march also comes amid criticism over his absence from last month’s protests by the Opposition at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where student and youth groups had demanded the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Apart from a July 16 post on X urging activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike, Yadav had largely stayed away from the protests, even as leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Akhilesh Yadav joined the protest.

Student protests had also erupted across Bihar, with police using lathis, tear gas and batons against protesters in places including Katihar, Darbhanga, Begusarai and Patna.

During an Assembly session last month, Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha had asked Speaker Prem Kumar to “find out the whereabouts” of the Leader of Opposition and inform the House. RJD leaders had defended Yadav, saying he was in Delhi attending to his ailing father and party president Lalu Prasad. Others, however, said he was in Europe and expected to return to Delhi on Friday.