BHOPAL: A Class XII student in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district reportedly missed the first paper of his board examinations after spending nearly 40 hours in jail for showing black flags to Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav during a Congress protest.
The 17-year-old was among three persons arrested on 8 February in the Dhanpuri area of Shahdol district, as the Chief Minister’s motorcade passed through the Gopalpur intersection en route to the local airstrip.
Around 17–20 Congress workers allegedly attempted to block the motorcade and waved black flags at the Chief Minister in protest against the deaths of more than 30 people in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, reportedly due to contaminated water supply.
Police detained three protesters, including the teenager, and produced them before an Executive Magistrate (Tehsildar), who remanded them to Burhar sub-jail on charges of breach of peace.
“Three persons were taken into custody and produced before the Executive Magistrate, who issued their jail warrant, leading to their being sent to Burhar sub-jail. A day later, on 9 February, a family member of one of the detainees informed the court that their son was 17 years and nine months old and was due to appear for the MP Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) examination the next morning. The Magistrate then ordered his release. However, owing to jail rules, which do not permit the release of inmates after sunset, he was released the following morning,” Shahdol Superintendent of Police Ramji Shrivastava said on Wednesday.
The student claimed he was released at around 6 am on 10 February. “The jail staff gave me Rs 50 and told me to go to the examination centre and appear for the exam. But I reached late and was unable to sit the paper,” he told journalists in Shahdol.
While acknowledging his association with the Congress, the teenager expressed disappointment that local party leaders did not assist him after his detention. “Senior local leaders even refused to recognise me as a party activist while I was in jail,” he alleged.
Local advocate Pradip Singh, who assisted the student’s family, criticised the handling of the case. “After the family approached the Executive Magistrate’s court for bail on 9 February, the matter was delayed. When it was brought to the court’s attention that one of the detainees was a minor due to appear in his Class XII examination the next morning, the court indicated that bail could be granted only to the student. However, when we pressed for bail for all three, neither was bail granted nor was the plea formally rejected. On 10 February, I learnt that the student had been released that morning,” Singh said.
He further alleged procedural lapses. “The local administration and police committed multiple errors, first by registering a breach of peace case against a minor and sending him to jail, and then by releasing him without ensuring he was safely reunited with his family,” the advocate said.
The MPBSE Class XII examinations commenced with the English paper on 10 February and will continue until 7 March.