Janshakti Janata Dal national president Tej Pratap Yadav was detained by Patna Police from a shopping mall near Dak Bungalow Chauraha on Saturday evening and taken to Digha Police Station, hours after he had joined demonstrators at Ram Gulam Chowk earlier in the day to express solidarity with protesting students. He was produced before a judicial magistrate late that night, who remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody. He has since been shifted to Beur Central Jail, formally known as Adarsh Central Jail.

Police said the arrest was connected to cases registered over vandalism, arson and damage to public property reported during the bandh, which was called by Left-wing student organisations protesting the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and police action against students. According to police, they reviewed CCTV footage from the protests and found evidence suggesting Tej Pratap had incited protesters, though the specific charges against him haven't been publicly detailed. An FIR was registered against him at Gandhi Maidan police station.

Tej Pratap's legal team has pushed back on how the arrest was handled. His lawyer, Jagannath Singh, said the FIR was filed only on the 26th, after the arrest, and disputed the manner in which police carried out the detention. Singh said a bail petition would be filed on Monday seeking his release.

The bandh itself saw disruption across several districts, including Patna, Saran, Siwan, Aurangabad and Bhagalpur, with protesters blocking roads and railway tracks at multiple points. Patna's Senior Superintendent of Police, Kartikeya K. Sharma, said demonstrators pelted police with stones and attempted to break barricades, and that several students had been detained as police worked to identify those responsible for the violence. Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged separately that police opened fire on protesters in Siwan district, and criticised Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary over the incident.

Speaking to reporters during his detention, Tej Pratap said the students' demands were justified and called on the government to address them. The protests come against a backdrop of broader turmoil over the NEET paper leak controversy, which has already led to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation from his post.

With Tej Pratap now in judicial custody and a bail plea expected Monday, the case is likely to keep Bihar's already charged pre-election political atmosphere in the spotlight in the days ahead.