PATNA, July 28 -- The Bihar government on Monday suspended a constable, Abhishek Kumar, who was seen in a purported video firing an AK-47 rifle at protesters in Siwan during the Bihar bandh agitation on July 25. Three protesters sustained bullet injuries in Siwan and are currently under treatment at the Medanta hospital in Patna. The government's move, however, ran into controversy over the excuse offered by officials regarding the constable's suspension. Siwan Superintendent of Police (SP) Puran Kumar Jha while confirming the suspension said that "he was not on duty to handle the Bihar bandh and acted hastily." Other officers of the Siwan police claimed that the injured protesters were not hit by the constable's AK-47. The Siwan Police also claimed that the location of the three injured protesters was different from the place where the suspended cop fired at them. Siwan DM Vivek Ranjan Maitrey, while commenting on the constable's conduct and suspension, said that "he was on some other policing assignment and somehow got caught among the protesters." He, however, admitted that the jawan's action (using an AK-47) was not in accordance with the law and that he was not ordered to do so. But, he maintained that the constable only fired in the air. "The jawan was neither supposed to fire nor carry an automatic weapon in front of the crowd. Four rounds of bullets were fired from his barrel to protect lives and government property. The suspended jawan was attached with the district intelligence unit (DIU) passing through JP Chowk to investigate a separate murder case when he became trapped in a protest crowd. Caught in the commotion, he discharged four rounds into the air using an AK-47 assault rifle," the DM said. The suspension of constable Kumar came after nationwide outrage when videos of him using an AK-47 on protesters went viral and frontline opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav and others spoke of it repeatedly. Opposition leaders called his suspension only a "cover-up" by the Siwan Police and administration for concealing its violent action on Bihar bandh protesters. Opposition CPI-ML (liberation) leader Amarjeet Kushwaha said that the police's claim that the three injured were not hit by the suspended cop's AK-47 sounds "hilarious". "How is it that the bullets fired from the suspended cop's assault rifle at the protesters did not hit anybody? How did three persons get injured then? Were they hit by criminals or protesters themselves? It's all a cover-up, and a new narrative is being floated by the Siwan Police to save their undemocratic and suppressive attitude towards the students on July 25. There should be an independent probe into the whole incident and the conduct of the cops and district administration," Kushwaha said. Manoj Jha , RJD national spokesperson, said "Youth will never forget these images, they will remember them." "Our party has already filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court regarding this matter... There is absolutely no room in the future for violence--such as the use of AK-47s or pellet guns--against peaceful protests. Such tactics used to be common in Kashmir," he said. Three protesters who suffered bullet injuries in Siwan have been identified as Mohammad Arif (17), Aakash Kumar (22) and Bullet Kumar Gaud. Three FIRs have been filed on their behalf in the Town police station for being shot in the police firing. On July 25, during the Bihar bandh protests across Bihar, several districts witnessed violence, resulting in injuries to both protesters and policemen and hundreds of them being detained. In Siwan, the situation was worse when the police and protesters entered into a direct clash, leading to the use of arms, tear gas, and even an AK-47....