Patna: Imagine living more than 5,000 kilometres away and finding your name in the FIR for student unrest. Mohammad Sadaqat alias Konain has claimed just that.According to the 26-year-old from Satmeri village in Bahadurganj, he has been living in Russia since March but was surprised to see his name figure in an FIR linked to the July 24 violence over the alleged NEET paper leak.In the video circulating on social media, Sadaqat, who makes school bags, says, “On July 24, there was a protest against the NEET leak at LRP Chowk, and the Bahadurganj administration has named me in that. I have been in Russia for the past four months. Since I am in Russia, I request the administration to remove my name from there. I will remain indebted to the administration for this.”The video has drawn widespread attention online, with several social media users questioning how a person claiming to have been abroad for months could be named in the case. Sadaqat has also appealed to the district administration to verify his travel records and remove his name from the FIR if it was included mistakenly.According to the FIR, the case was registered on July 25 at Bahadurganj police station on the complaint of Ashish Kumar Singh, Circle Officer, Bahadurganj, who alleged that a protest by student organisations turned violent, leading to attacks on police and administrative officials, damage to govt vehicles and disruption of traffic on the national highway.The FIR names 69 accused and invokes multiple sections of BNS including unlawful assembly, rioting, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt to public servant, attempt to murder and criminal intimidation, along with the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and the National Highways Act, 1956.Responding to the viral claim, Kishanganj SP (in charge) Hari Mohan Shukla told TOI the matter is under investigation and that the identity of the person in the video is yet to be established.He pointed out that while the FIR mentions “Sadaqat Konain” as one of the accused, it does not contain his father’s name or any other identifying details.“The person in the video is claiming that the FIR refers to him, but how he has reached that conclusion is itself a matter of investigation. An FIR is only the beginning of the legal process. Verification and investigation are conducted afterwards, and if any discrepancy or error is found, it will be examined during the course of the probe,” Shukla said.After the video went viral, a local police team went to the village, which is almost 14 km from Bahadurganj police station, to verify the claim.Bahadurganj SHO Sunil Kumar said police had visited the house of the youth for verification and prima facie, found him to be innocent. He said the FIR was prepared on the basis of CCTV footage and local identification following the protest, and in Sadaqat’s case, only his name was mentioned without that of his father’s.“The person told us he believed the FIR referred to him because he is the only Sadaqat in the village. Verification is part of the investigation, and if it is found that he was abroad and wrongly named, appropriate action will be taken. We do not want any innocent person to face legal action,” the SHO told TOI.
