New Delhi: Bihar police official seen firing an AK-47 at student protesters in Siwan on Saturday (July 25) has been suspended, Superintendent of Police Puran Kumar Jha told news agency ANI on Monday (July 27).A widely circulated post on social media showed a Bihar police official – identified as Abhishek Patel according to news agency IANS – firing an AK-47 at students protesting against the NEET paper leak during a statewide shutdown on Saturday.The protests in Bihar had turned violent with reports of clashes between the protesters and police personnel in the area. The police resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the demonstrators, the Hindu reported.Similar clashes were also reported in Patna during the Bihar Bandh called by opposition parties and other organisations over the paper leak controversy and the brutal police action against students.Use of extreme forceThe Union government has been under fire for the use of extreme force, including the use of modified riot-control weapons and pellet guns, against protesters.A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) enquiry found that Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel on July 20 fired at least seven rounds from a pellet gun, five of which hit peaceful protesters.Following the protest in Delhi, three individuals reported serious injuries – 25-year-old Irshad Sheikh, 19-year-old Delhi University student Sahil Lochab and a 28-year-old journalist who works with Outlook magazine, while many others were beaten with lathis. In several instances, male cops were seen using force on unarmed female protesters.‘Murderous towards students’Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of being “murderous” towards students.“The entire system is downright murderous against students. News is coming in that AK-47 bullets have been fired at protesting students in Bihar, and hundreds of students have been arrested with FIRs being filed against them,” Gandhi said in his post.“Mr. Modi, where did your promise go that no FIRs would be filed against students and they would be released? Instead, deadly attacks and brutality are being unleashed on them…In Delhi, pellet guns were fired at students, and in Bihar, AK-47s. Whether it’s Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, or Delhi—the pattern is the same everywhere,” he added.