Crowd chase a constable with sticks at Jantar Mantar as a retaliatory measure , video going viral in social media

New Delhi: The student agitation demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leaks and over 20 student suicides grew more intense on Wednesday, with Congress leaders demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi  and fresh clashes reported from Jantar Mantar.

The protest, now in its fourth day, saw hundreds of NEET aspirants, SSC and banking exam candidates, and youth groups camped at Jantar Mantar. Tents were back up and the crowd swelled through the day despite heavy barricading. Organisers said students from Delhi, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan had joined after videos of Monday’s lathicharge and tear gas at the “Chalo Sansad” march went viral.

The situation turned violent on Wednesday evening when a group of protesters chased a police constable near the barricades after an argument. Videos on social media showed the officer running toward a police vehicle as slogans were raised behind him. Delhi Police said no serious injuries were reported but five personnel, including two RAF jawans attacked at Tolstoy Marg on Tuesday night, have been hurt in clashes over the last two days.

Amid this, Congress sharpened its attack. Addressing the media from Parliament, senior Congress leaders said the Prime Minister must take responsibility for the “breakdown of the education system” and apologise to students and families of those who died by suicide. “Lakhs of children work hard, their papers are leaked, and when they ask for justice they are beaten on the streets.

The PM owes an apology to the youth of this country,” a senior Congress leader said, as INDIA bloc MPs including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav staged a protest inside Parliament premises with placards demanding Pradhan’s resignation.

The Opposition also raised the issue of police conduct. A video purportedly showing ADCP Sandeep Lamba slapping a woman protester during Monday’s march was played in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan told the court the officer’s name and badge were clearly visible and sought that he be summoned. Following the outrage, Delhi Police removed Lamba from protest duty and sent him back to his parent cadre pending inquiry.

On the government side, there was a shift toward outreach. Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Dr. Jitendra Singh said the government has “no prestige issue” and is ready to meet the students. “Our doors are open. The meeting can be held in our offices or residences,” Nadda said, adding that concerns over NEET, compensation for bereaved families, and police action will be heard.

The ministers’ statement came after Sonam Wangchuk, climate activist and Magsaysay awardee, posted a video from Medanta Hospital in Gurugram where he is on the 25th day of his hunger strike.

Wangchuk, shifted from Safdarjung Hospital after his wife Geetanjali moved the Delhi High Court, said he would break his fast immediately if the government assures that peaceful protesters will not face harassment and that all cases against them are withdrawn. He said 65 MPs had written to him urging him to end the fast, and that he had met Nadda and Singh in hospital.

Protesters at Jantar Mantar, however, said assurances are not enough. Their demands remain: a judicial probe into the NEET leak and coaching mafia, resignation of the Education Minister, Rs 1 crore compensation for families of the 20+ aspirants who died by suicide, and a written guarantee of no punitive action against demonstrators.

With Parliament in session, the courts monitoring police action, a hunger strike entering its 25th day, and the Congress now demanding a PM’s apology, the student movement has moved from the street to the centre of national politics. At Jantar Mantar late Wednesday, the slogans were louder, the barricades tighter, and the call for accountability more insistent.