Patna: Chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday ordered a judicial inquiry by a retired high court judge into the controversial police firing incident in which a youth Bharat Bhushan Tiwari was shot at Bilauti village under Shahpur police station area in Bhojpur district on June 17. The youth later succumbed to the bullet injuries at PMCH.The move came after conflicting claims over the shooting and rare criticism from senior BJP functionaries.“A decision has been taken to conduct a judicial inquiry by a retired judge of the high court for an independent and impartial investigation into the police encounter that took place at Bilauti village of Shahpur police station area in Bhojpur district on June 17, 2026,” Choudhary said in a Hindi post on X.“The purpose of the judicial inquiry is to ensure an investigation of all aspects of the incident with impartiality and transparency,” he added.The encounter has sparked a major political and public debate because of a viral video recorded shortly before the firing. In the video, Tiwari is seen throwing away his firearm and indicating that he wanted to surrender. Bhojpur police, however, claimed that he fired at the team, prompting officers to retaliate in self-defence. His relatives alleged that he was killed in cold blood after surrendering.Following preliminary scrutiny of procedural lapses and delay in shifting Tiwari to hospitals, the Sahabad range DIG suspended four police personnel, including Shahpur SHO Rajesh Kumar.Police had initially been searching Tiwari after a complaint that he had displayed an illegal pistol on social media and made a video viral threatening a sub-divisional officer. Shahpur police visited his house twice on June 15 to question him and seize the weapon. When the police team returned for a third visit on June 16, Tiwari allegedly resisted arrest, aimed the pistol at the police and held the SHO at gunpoint for nearly 20 minutes, warning that he would shoot if police advanced. The team withdrew without arresting him.A video of the standoff went viral, triggering outrage over law and order. Senior police officers then deployed a larger force with the Special Task Force on June 17. During the raid, Tiwari again went live on social media, allegedly brandished the weapon and ran into an open field while raising demands. The fatal shooting followed after he threw the pistol during the livestreaming.The case drew sharp reactions from BJP functionaries. Education minister Mithilesh Tiwari said, “This is a serious matter of accountability. If a youth makes a mistake, there is a legal framework and a scale of punishment. Direct execution cannot be the final solution. The Bihar Police must exercise utmost patience. They carry a dual responsibility: To penalise hardened criminals, but equally, to guide misled youths back to the correct path.”BJP national secretary Rituraj Sinha said, “Law enforcement personnel must not turn from protectors into predators.” He welcomed the suspensions, and said guilty officers must face criminal prosecution. He also argued departmental suspension alone would not meet the test of accountability in court.
