‘I’ll show them madness’: Bihar man livestreams 2-day encounter, dies
The confrontation came less than a day after Bhojpur Police said the 28-year-old Bilauti village resident was mentally unwell and efforts were underway to take him into safe custody and arrange treatment at a mental health facility.
The situation intensified Wednesday morning as local police and STF personnel surrounded the area while Tiwari continued to livestream the events. (Photo: Screengrabs from Video on Facebook/@Bharat Tiwari) A 28-year-old man who had been at the centre of a two-day standoff with police in Bihar’s Bhojpur district died this week after being injured in a police encounter, hours after saying in a Facebook Live broadcast that he was willing to lay down his weapon if his demands were met.
Bharat Bhushan died Wednesday at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) hours after sustaining two gunshot injuries in the encounter. The confrontation — also live streamed — came less than a day after Bhojpur Police said the 28-year-old Bilauti village resident was mentally unwell and efforts were underway to take him into safe custody and arrange treatment at a mental health facility.
In press releases issued Tuesday and Wednesday, Bhojpur Superintendent of Police Raj claimed that at 9 am, Shahpur police station received information about a man moving around waving a pistol and firing in the air. Local police and Bhojpur STF personnel repeatedly asked him to surrender, but he continued firing intermittently at police, creating a serious threat to officers and local residents, the statement said.
“When officers visited his residence, they found that the individual seen in widely circulated videos was ‘mentally unsound’,” a press release said, adding that the process of sending him to a mental hospital had been initiated and asking the public not to circulate “misleading” videos related to the case.
A second press release Wednesday: “STF personnel wearing bulletproof jackets attempted a close cordon. As they moved towards him, Tiwari shot at them, following which the police ‘retaliated’. He sustained bullet injuries to his legs’.
In his videos, Tiwari referred to himself as a “krantikari (revolutionary)”, writing in a Facebook post that figures like him had often been mislabelled “mad” and “anti-national”. In another post a day before his death, Tiwari, whose father is said to be a retired police driver, accused the Bihar administration of wanting to eliminate him and claimed specialised teams could be deployed against him in a “battle for society and the country”.
Tuesday had already seen a tense standoff between Tiwari and police. Videos from that day show him lying on a cot with a pistol in hand as police personnel and family members attempted to calm him. He is then seen pointing the pistol at police as a woman, stated to be his mother, tries to pacify him. Efforts to take him into custody failed Tuesday, sources said.
The situation intensified Wednesday morning as local police and STF personnel surrounded the area while Tiwari continued to livestream the events.
“Ye log pagal saabit karna chahte hain. Jab Bhagat Singh samaj aur desh ke liye lad rahe the, unko bhi pagal saabit kiya gaya tha (These people want to prove me mad. When Bhagat Singh was fighting for society and the country, he too was declared mad),” he is heard saying in one video. He goes on to say: “Rukiye, inko abhi hum apna pagalpan dikhate hain (Wait, now I will show them my madness),” before running towards a gate of the premises.
In his final live streamed video, Tiwari said he was willing to lay down his weapon if authorities addressed his concerns.
“Mange poori ki jayengi to mujhe shastra niche dalne mein koi samasya nahi hai (If my demands are met, I have no problem laying down my weapon),” Tiwari said.
Police said an inquiry is underway.
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