Grief And Anger In Bilauti As Thousands Rally To Demand Answers in Bharat Tiwari Encounter Case
Thousands of people thronged the native place of mentally distressed social activist Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, expressing anger over his killing.
By Dev Raj
Published : June 24, 2026 at 8:07 PM IST
Patna: All roads led to the Bilauti village in Bhojpur district on Wednesday as thousands of people thronged the native place of mentally distressed social activist Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, who was allegedly shot dead in cold blood by the police after his surrender on June 17.
Many of them carried the national flag. People had come to the village in Shahpur block to participate in a tribute –cum–mahapanchayat (grand assembly or meeting) to demand justice for him, seek the resolution of the issues pertaining to the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people for whom he was fighting, and punishment for the police officials involved in the allegedly fake encounter.
Posters and banners bearing the photograph of Bharat welcomed them right from the Ara– Buxar four-lane expressway (National Highway – 922) to Bilauti. The mahapanchayat was convened by 'Shaheed Bharat Tiwari Sangharsh Samiti', a committee formed to seek justice for him.
People from far-flung areas of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, and other places arrived on foot, motorcycles, cars, and in bigger vehicles to participate in the meeting and discuss the future course of action. They raised slogans against the state government and the administration.
Representatives of various socio-religious organisations, including Karni Sena, Parshuram Sena, Hindu Mahasabha, Brahman Mahasabha, and Hindu Jagaran Manch, also participated in the mahapanchayat.
The family members, villagers, and residents of neighbouring villages were also present at the mahapanchayat. Though several leaders cutting across party lines have already paid a visit to Bilauti, Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor visited there today and participated in the meeting.
Mahapanchayat Over Bharat’s Killing
The assembly of people from different places and walks of life betrayed that the anger over the killing of Bharat was refusing to subside and was gathering further momentum, with the potential of turning into a mass movement.
Bharat’s father, Kashi Nath Tiwari, wept inconsolably at the meeting. The people present there consoled him. He demanded justice for his son and sat there grieving his death.
"My elder brother was fighting for the people. Their problems should be resolved. We want the government to resolve them as soon as possible. Moreover, strong action should be taken against the police personnel involved in murdering him in the name of an encounter," Bharat’s younger brother Chandan Tiwari said at the mahapanchayat.
Several participants, especially youths, termed Bharat’s death a sacrifice and asserted that he was killed for standing against corruption. They vowed to ensure justice and also work on similar lines in their own respective places.
“He (Bharat) was killed for working for the poor and hapless people, who were displaced due to floods. He was killed for standing against corruption and trying to ensure that the government discharges its duty. We will also choose the same path and work for the deprived sections of society,” said Mahesh Kumar Yadav, a college student from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.
Jagannath Prasad Sharma, a social activist who had come from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, asserted that Bharat’s death has awakened the youths in the country, who will now agitate against corruption and corrupt politicians.
Similarly, another social worker, Ravish Bhardwaj from Delhi, said that he will wait at the village till the 13-day final ritual of Bharat gets over.
“I have come here and witnessed that a gunda raj (rule of the goons) is prevailing in Bihar. The police are involved in it. They are forcing people to go against the law. I will return to Delhi after some days and lead an agitation for justice for Bharat,” Ravish said.
The people of Jawainiya village, for whom Bharat had been working for the past two years, named the village ‘Shaheed Bharat Nagar’ as an emotional gesture.
Prashant Kishor Demands Judicial Probe
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor met Bharat’s family and addressed the mahapanchayat. Kishor questioned the role of senior police officials stationed in Patna in his death. He also expressed dissatisfaction over the action by the government in the aftermath of the allegedly fake encounter and demanded that the judicial probe be conducted by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court instead of a retired judge.
"Bharat’s family has made it clear that they do not want any compensation or government job over his death. They just want justice. My sentiments are also the same. The judicial inquiry should be conducted by a sitting judge of the high court, and it should also fix accountability at the topmost echelons of the police force instead of stopping at probing the role of the officials posted in Bhojpur,” Prashant said.
Action By Government In The Case
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced a judicial probe on Saturday (June 20) into Bharat’s encounter, which would be conducted by a retired justice of the Patna High Court.
The mahapanchayat came amidst the state government shunting out Jagdishpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Rajesh Kumar Sharma, who is also accused in a case related to the encounter of three youths in Muzaffarpur district around two decades ago. The official has been replaced by Pankaj Mishra.
FIR Against Police Officials
Earlier on Tuesday, the police accepted the application of Bharat’s mother, Asha Devi, and registered an FIR against Jagdishpur SDPO Sharma (now transferred), Shahpur station house officer (SHO) Rajesh Malakar and other police officials, accusing them of murdering him. She had been trying to register the case since the very next day of his killing.
In the FIR, Bharat’s mother has narrated how the police officials asked him to come out and show them the problems being faced by the people of Jawainiya village, displaced due to floods.
“My son was live-streaming everything on Facebook. He put forth his demands, threw his firearm before the police, and surrendered. The police pushed him into a nearby ditch and shot him five times on the orders of Jagdishpur SDPO,” Devi wrote in the application on the basis of which the FIR was registered.
“He (Bharat) was next put in a vehicle and taken away, while my husband and I were forcibly kept at the Shahpur police station for the entire day. We were informed in the evening that he had died,” Devi further said in the FIR.
Incidentally, the police are yet to disclose the postmortem report of Bharat. It was conducted at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).
The Encounter Case
Bharat used to raise issues related to the deprived sections of society, including of flood protection and relief. He wanted to change the indifferent administrative system. Fed up with the lethargy of the government in providing relief to the people of neighbouring Jawainiya village displaced by floods, and after a lack of action, he posed with a pistol and posted its video on Facebook.
Someone complained about the post to the police, who visited his residence on June 16 to enquire about it. Bharat aimed a pistol at them and reiterated his demand. The police team went away, but a video of the incident became viral on social media, and also found its place in the news.
The police returned the next day (June 17) and surrounded Bharat at his house. He started livestreaming it on Facebook and again threatened them by brandishing his firearm, and managed to reach an open place in his village.
He aimed a pistol at the police officials and demanded that his demands be met, especially proper rehabilitation of flood victims at the nearby Jawaniya village and flood protection works for the area.
Bharat threw away the firearm before the police and surrendered to them when they assured him that his demands would be taken up with the concerned higher authorities and fulfilled. But at the same time, he expressed concern about his personal safety.
The police allegedly shot him in cold blood after he surrendered. He was taken away to the district hospital at Ara and then to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), where he succumbed to his injuries.
Angered over his killing, the villagers protested by blocking the national highway between Ara and Buxar on Thursday (June 18). They demanded a judicial probe or investigation by an independent agency, as well as action against the police personnel involved in the death of Bharat. The police registered three cases pertaining to the encounter and subsequent protest by the villagers.
Bihar Government Appoints Vinod Kumar Sinha To Conduct Judicial Probe
The state government appointed Patna High Court justice (retired) Vinod Kumar Sinha to conduct the judicial probe into the encounter. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday.
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