PATNA, July 28 -- After carrying out a massive crackdown on students, who joined the protest against the alleged NEET question paper leak in the state, Bihar home department late on Monday evening announced that all the cases registered against the protesters would be withdrawn and those arrested would be released with no punitive action to be taken in the future. In the notification issued by the home department's special secretary Kshatranil Singh, the government said "No adverse legal action -- punitive/retaliatory -- shall be taken by the Government against any individual participating in the protests before 6 PM on July 26, across the entire state. "Also, the legal process for withdrawal of all existing First Information Report (FIRs), criminal complaints or showcause notice against individuals, before July 26th on account of their participations in the said protests, will be initiated immediately. Furthermore, all the persons arrested/detained in connections with the cases registered before the stipulated date, shall be released immediately," the notification said. The government's decision came amid widespread protests from civil activists, lawyers, political activists and representatives of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), who had strongly condemned the Bihar Police's continued crackdown against the protesters, sending hundreds of young protesters to judicial custody and leaving families anguished as they searched for their detained children. The move is also seen as a climb down by the government which had already detained and arrested around 700 people in the last couple of days for participating in the students' protests during the Bihar Bandh. According to police figures, 694 people were detained across the state in connection with the July 25 bandh, jointly organised by the All India Students' Association (AISA) and Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) in solidarity with the CJP agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Of these, 355 youths have been remanded to judicial custody till Monday, while 339 minors and others were released after age verification today. Violence was reported from at least 13 districts, with Patna recording the highest number of detentions. A total of 30 FIRs were registered against student protestors , leaders and also unidentified persons on charges of spreading arson, vandalising public property and also attempt to murder and resorting to intimidation, according to police sources. Police sources said the crackdown was still underway in various parts of the state with police scanning pictures of over 500 student protestors, who allegedly indulged in arson and vandalism during the July 26 Bihar bandh and also on July 22nd students' protests sponsored by AISA. " We have already issued the photographs of over 500 student protestors who are suspected to have caused damage to public property during the protests from July 22nd to July 25. We are using AI and other advanced technology to identify the suspects and there could be more arrests in coming days," said a senior police officer in the state police headquarter, seeking anonymity. The bandh, which demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saw clashes that injured 91 police personnel - including two superintendents of police (SPs), two SDPOs and two block development officers, one of whom reportedly lost an eye. Thirteen civilians were also injured. Protesters damaged 14 government vehicles and set one on fire, police said. While the police officials justified the actions as lawful, the victims' families alleged uncalled for hardships to them for a genuine cause of the students. They alleged that they were being subjected to harassment, confusion and brutality as their wards are being picked up while going on their daily routines. Pragati Prasad, a distraught father, stood outside a judge's residence in Patna, narrating how his son Shivam Kumar was arrested. "I am sick. My son had left home to take medicine. I had forbidden him, but he said, 'No papa ji, I will bring it.' The police picked him up and beat him so badly that he is not even able to walk," Prasad said. In another 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. Families described running from one police station to another - Gandhi Maidan, Digha, Rajiv Nagar and Rupaspur - for 30 to 35 hours without receiving clear information about their children's whereabouts. Many students were eventually shifted to Beur jail late at night. Sudhanshu Kumar's son was picked up while buying a laptop on SP Verma Road. Another youth was arrested while going to Gandhi Maidan to buy a book. "All children are being treated like offenders," family members complained. Senior advocates assisting the protesters echoed these concerns. Yogesh Chandra Thakur, a senior advocate at Patna high court, alleged high-handed police action. "The crackdown is still continuing, even as the Bihar Bandh was an extension of the Jantar Mantar protest... The Central government has agreed to the CJP demands and assured not to pursue legal action against the protesters. This is ironic that the Bihar Police is still arresting the youths and filing cases against them under serious sections," Thakur said. He also claimed that several students were handcuffed during their production at the civil court in Patna, which is against the Supreme Court ruling." Student protestors are being treated like criminals," he said. Uday Pratap Singh, general secretary of the Indian Association of Lawyers, Bihar unit, warned of long-term consequences. "The filing of FIRs with non-bailable sections against students on a large scale after the end of the agitation has increased the risk of lawlessness in the state... The career of hundreds of students would be in peril if the police continued to treat them as criminals." He also claimed that around 3,000 students have been rounded up by the Bihar police till Monday and more such detention/ arrests were going on. " Police are acting in a vengeful manner to curb down on the students' protests by throwing all rules and laws to the wind," he said. Some relief came for minors when the Juvenile Justice Board at Gaighat, Patna, granted interim bail to nine minor boys on Monday, directing them to appear before the board regularly. However, many families continued to wait anxiously outside courts and jails. State home secretary Kundan Kumar maintained that police acted as per law against those involved in violence. "The police has not been acting in a retaliatory manner. So far as allegations of use of excessive force or imposition of unnecessary sections... the department would definitely look into the matter and take corrective measures," he said. Additional director general of police (law and order) KS Anupam confirmed the release of 339 minors. In Sitamarhi, police released photos of 66 suspects and arrested 15 in connection with a separate case of arson and vandalism, where anti-social elements allegedly infiltrated the protest. (With inputs from Mukesh K Mishra, Bishnu K Jha)...