Patna/Kolkata/Prayagraj, July 28 -- The Bihar government late on Monday said it will withdraw all cases registered against protesters and release those arrested in a statewide crackdown against demonstrators who took part in last week's strike supporting the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against the NEET question paper leak controversy. "No adverse legal action - punitive/retaliatory - shall be taken by the Government against any individual participating in the protests before6 PM on July 26, across the entire state," a notification issued by the state home department said. "Furthermore, all the persons arrested/detained in connections with the cases registered before the stipulated date, shall be released immediately." The government's decision came amid widespread protests from civil activists, lawyers, political activists and CJP representatives who strongly condemned the Bihar police's continued crackdown against the protesters, sending hundreds of young protesters to judicial custody. Police said 694 people were detained across the state in connection with the July 25 strike. Of these, 355 youths had been remanded to judicial custody while 339 minors and others were released after age verification on Monday. Violence was reported from at least 13 districts, with Patna recording the highest number of detentions. While the police had justified the actions as lawful, the victims' families alleged harassment. They claimed they were being subjected to deliberate confusion and brutality as their wards were being picked up while going on their daily routines. In one case, Awadhesh Kumar Sharma, a mechanic from Aurangabad working in New Delhi, said his three sons - who were returning home after coaching classes in Patna - were arrested by Kankarbagh police. The eldest, Suresh Kumar, a polytechnic student, was sent to jail reportedly for making a statement against the Prime Minister. His younger brothers, identified as minors, were later released. Relatives alleged that detained students were brutally beaten and booked under serious, non-bailable sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, including Section 109 (attempt to murder). Over a dozen people have been arrested in West Bengal for resorting to violence at rallies and demonstrations related to the protest, police said. Many of those arrested have been charged with damaging public property and vandalism. At least 14 people were arrested earlier and remanded in police custody on Sunday when the police told the court that none of them were students. "Two more men, identified as Waqr Azam and Md Javed Akhtar, were arrested from Bright Street and Nadial areas respectively on Monday. All 16 accused have been booked under the new West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-social Activities Act and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Act," a police officer said, requesting anonymity. The Prayagraj police have arrested 10 suspects accused of vandalising vehicles during the student protests at Civil Lines on July 25 and registered threeFIRs related to the incidents under sections 191 (2), 324 (4) and 109 (1) of the BNS. The latest complaint was lodged on Monday by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, who alleged that his vehicle was attacked and he received death threat by unidentified miscreants....