Bail granted with conditions after ink-attack at protest
A Ranchi court on Tuesday granted bail to Amarnath Pandey, who was arrested for allegedly throwing ink at All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora during a protest march to the Jharkhand Assembly on August 7. The accused was detained immediately after the incident and later arrested, according to PTI reporting and local statements.
Gaurav Shukla, the counsel for the accused, said the court ordered bail after Pandey furnished two bail bonds of ₹10,000 each. The grant of bail came with a specific condition that the accused must refrain from making any statement against Bora on any platform, the counsel told PTI.
"The court granted bail to Pandey after furnishing two bail bonds of Rs 10,000 each. Bail was granted on the condition that the accused refrain from making any statement against Bora on any platform," Gaurav Shukla, the counsel of the accused, said, according to PTI.
Sequence of events and charges
The incident occurred near Birsa Chowk when students and activists from organisations including AISA and AISF were marching towards the state assembly to protest alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). AISA’s state secretary Santosh Kumar (also known as Trilokinath) provided a statement that formed part of the police case, PTI reported.
- August 7: Protest march to the Jharkhand Assembly over alleged recruitment exam irregularities.
- During the march near Birsa Chowk, ink was allegedly thrown at Neha Bora.
- The accused, identified as Amarnath (Amar Nath) Pandey, was detained immediately and subsequently arrested.
- August 11: Ranchi Civil Court granted bail after two bonds of ₹10,000 each were furnished; condition imposed to refrain from making statements against Bora.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Accused | Amarnath Pandey (identified by AISA and counsel; Statesman report gave age as 26 and residence as Hazaribagh) |
| Bail | Two bonds of ₹10,000 each; condition to not make statements against Bora |
| Alleged offence | Ink thrown at AISA national president during protest; case registered on AISA state secretary's statement |
Allegations and questions over security
AISA strongly condemned the attack and said it targeted women protesters who were demanding accountability from the state government over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. The organisation urged strict action, saying those who allegedly targeted Bora and other women protesters were disrupting a legitimate demonstration, according to The Statesman.
Bora raised concerns about a perceived security lapse at the protest site. She asked how the alleged attacker managed to breach the security cordon in an area where police personnel had been deployed around the march, and called for an inquiry into the deployment and circumstances that allowed the accused to reach the main protest area, The Statesman reported.
The PTI report quoted that the accused later said he disliked Bora because she was a "supporter of Umar Khalid and an anti-national", remarks that were recorded during the police inquiry and cited in the charge documents, according to PTI. Umar Khalid is an activist who was arrested in September 2020 under the UAPA in connection with the 2020 riots.
What is on record
On record are the court's bail order with its conditions, the detention and arrest of Pandey following the August 7 incident, the statement by AISA’s state secretary that led to registration of the case, and public calls from AISA and Bora for an inquiry into the security arrangements at the protest. The court-imposed restriction on public statements by the accused is part of the bail conditions as reported by PTI.
Police have not been quoted in detail in the reports on the specific sections under which Pandey was booked; PTI said he was booked under several sections based on the AISA state secretary's statement. Further procedural developments, any formal inquiry into security deployment, and the status of police investigation were not detailed in the available reports.
