A NEET aspirant died under suspicious circumstances at a Patna hostel, with the post-mortem report indicating that sexual violence cannot be ruled out, contradicting police’s initial claims.
The case sparked public protests and political backlash, raising serious questions about Bihar Police’s investigation process, credibility, and haste in ruling out sexual assault.
The incident highlights a wider crisis of women’s safety in Bihar, exposing gaps in hostel regulation, policing accountability, and the rising incidence of sexual violence against girls.
The death of a NEET aspirant at Shambhu Girls’ Hostel in Patna has moved beyond a criminal case, raising serious questions about Bihar Police’s investigation and credibility.
Public anger intensified after the police initially suggested the case involved a drug overdose and suicide. Protests have since erupted in several places, with growing demands for accountability. The post-mortem report which stated sexual violence has further fuelled the controversy.
The girl, a resident of Jehanabad district in Bihar, aspired to become a doctor and was preparing for medical entrance examinations while staying at the hostel in Kankarbagh. She returned to the hostel on 5 January and was found unconscious the next day on January 6. She was rushed in a hurry to a private hospital, where after battling between life and death for five days, she died on January 11.
Soon after the incident, Patna Police ruled out rape or sexual assault. However, the post-mortem report, released on January 14, contradicted those claims, stating that “sexual violence cannot be ruled out”, giving the case a new direction and placing the administration’s initial statements under scrutiny.
Questioning the police’s conduct, the girl’s father accused them of attempting to cover up the case. He alleged that the police, the hospital, and the hostel management acted in collusion to suppress the matter. He demanded justice, the arrest of those responsible, and the death penalty to deter such crimes in future.
The police have faced sharp criticism over their initial statements. Meena Tiwari, General Secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, said the handling of the case warranted serious scrutiny of the police’s role.
Meena Tiwari says, “Because the job of the police is to investigate. But in this case, instead of researching and investigating, they directly issued a statement that there was no rape, and it was almost like a judgment. That too, before the post-mortem report came. The duty of the police is to collect facts and place them before the court. It is the court’s job to deliver judgment, not the police’s. This raises serious questions about the police’s role and why were they in such a hurry? Was there some kind of pressure on them?”
Bihar State Commission for Women chairperson Professor Apsara Mishra said the police should have acted more cautiously in such a sensitive case and avoided making statements before establishing the facts.
Speaking to Outlook about the incident, Apsara Mishra said, “The Commission took suo motu cognisance of the case and has been monitoring it since day one. I believe that within two days, the SIT will reveal the entire truth through its report.”
An FIR was registered on 9 January 2026 at Chitraguptnagar police station on the basis of the victim’s father’s statement. After the post-mortem report was released on January 14, protests erupted and the Opposition intensified its attack on the government. Amid mounting pressure, the owner of Shambhu Girls’ Hostel, Manish Kumar Ranjan, was arrested on January 15 and produced before a court.
As the matter escalated and amid allegations from family members and public representatives, Bihar’s Home Minister Samrat Choudhary ordered the formation of an SIT on 16 January. The SIT investigation began under the leadership of Patna IG Jitendra Rana.
Over the past nearly two months (December 2025 to January 2026), several incidents of rape and gang rape have taken place in Bihar. On January 10 this month, a 24-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped in the Dagarua area of Purnia district. On 8 January, a case of alleged rape and murder of a five-year-old girl came to light in the Gangaur police station area of Khagaria district. On January 19, a well-known storyteller was arrested in Darbhanga district on charges of raping a minor. In late December 2025 and early January 2026, a case of gang rape of a Class 9 student surfaced in Buxar, following which villagers protested, and police action was initiated.
Similarly, in May last year, several incidents related to sexual violence occurred in Bihar, causing widespread outrage. As it was an election period, these issues received extensive media attention.
Among these incidents, on May 26, a ten-year-old Dalit girl was raped. She later died during treatment in Patna. The outrage following this incident was so intense across the state that the National Commission for Women took suo motu cognisance and directed the Bihar Chief Secretary and DGP to conduct a thorough investigation. The opposition also condemned the state government and demanded justice through protests.
On 6 and 25 May 2025, cases of rape involving three- and four-year-old girls were reported in Danapur, Patna. On May 25 itself, a case of gang rape of a ten-year-old girl emerged in Saran. On May 26, a nine-year-old girl was raped in Turki, Muzaffarpur. This was followed by a gang rape of a 13-year-old girl in Rajgir on May 27; an eight-year-old girl in Darbhanga on May 28; an eleven-year-old girl in Sitamarhi on May 31; another eleven-year-old girl in Katni, Muzaffarpur on the same day; and finally, the rape of an eleven-month-old infant in Gaya on 4 June.
Activist Nivedita Jha says that incidents of rape against women occur almost daily in Bihar. According to her, crimes against women, especially against young girls, have increased sharply in the state over the past few years.
Nivedita Jha further says, “We have observed a new trend. Earlier, women were raped and then left alive. But since death penalty provisions came into place, criminals now try to eliminate evidence by killing the victim after the rape. Another important point is that violence against women cannot be seen in isolation. The overall social structure, the nature of our society, the kind of politics, and the economic conditions, all together contribute to the rise in such crimes.”
According to government data, crimes against women in Bihar have increased. NCRB figures show that rape cases against women - 651 in 2018, 730 in 2019, 1,210 in 2020, 786 in 2021, and 881 in 2022.
Data from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs shows that 51,896 cases of sexual violence against women were registered between 2019 and 2021. This includes 18,587 cases in 2019, 15,359 in 2020, and 17,950 in 2021. During the same period, Bihar reported 22,360 cases of missing girls, including 8,006 minors.
The rise in rape cases has raised serious questions about governance and accountability. According to the Bihar State Commission for Women, around 6,000 cases are currently pending before the Commission, with Begusarai recording the highest number at 395.
However, Commission chairperson Professor Apsara Mishra said the higher figures reflect increased reporting rather than a sudden surge in crime. She said cases were earlier suppressed, but greater public confidence in the justice system has led more victims to come forward. She added that the Commission is conducting awareness seminars in every district to prevent crimes against women.
The death of the NEET aspirant in a Patna hostel has also highlighted wider concerns over safety, monitoring and accountability in the city’s coaching and hostel sector. A student’s death under suspicious circumstances, coupled with shifting official statements, has eroded public trust and pushed the issue into the political and human rights arena.
Activist Nivedita Jha called for women-related cases to be prioritised in fast-track courts and for women’s organisations to be included in government committees. She also flagged the lack of regulation of the many hostels being run in almost every lane in Patna, saying police have no comprehensive data on hostel operators or their functioning, despite the serious risks involved.
