Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has announced financial assistance and a government job for a member of the family of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, who was killed in a police encounter in Bhojpur district in June. The announcement came soon after the judicial commission probing the encounter submitted its interim report.In a post on X Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said: “Based on the interim report of the judicial inquiry, the Bihar government will provide financial assistance to the family of the late Bharat Tiwari, and offer a government job to one family member”.This came days after a judicial commission submitted a report into the killing of Tiwari, a 28-year-old man who was killed in a police encounter in Bhojpur’s Belauthi village on June 17. The killing eventually became a political flashpoint.While the contents of the interim report have not been made public, government sources said it examined every aspect of the alleged encounter — including the poor financial condition of the Tiwari family.BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar Sharma told The Indian Express that the CM’s decision “proves that the rule of law prevails in Bihar, and that the government is sensitive to the rights and dignity of every citizen”. “It is also a slap in the face of those who were levelling accusations of casteism,” he said.The Opposition, however, argued that while financial assistance to the family was appropriate, the priority should be fixing responsibility for the encounter and ensuring justice. Bihar is increasingly turning into a police- and bureaucrat-driven state, RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta said. “Financial assistance is fine, but the judicial probe has to determine the culpability of police officers and fix accountability from top to bottom in the home department for giving orders in the Tiwari encounter case.”Bihar Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari added: “The Tiwari family deserves justice. Let everyone know who ordered the encounter. The state government must not try to deflect people’s attention by offering financial assistance.”Story continues below this adTiwari, whose family described him as a social activist, was shot on the morning of June 17 and died later that day at Patna Medical College and Hospital. At the time of the killing, police said Tiwari was armed and “mentally unsound”, leading them to shoot him in self-defence. But the encounter came under scrutiny after a video clip he shot minutes before purportedly showed that he had surrendered before the police.The incident sparked widespread public outrage, road blockades and protests across Bhojpur district, leading to a police lathi charge. Amid mounting backlash, the Bihar Police booked and suspended four officers, including the Jagdishpur DSP and Shahpur SHO.On June 20, the Bihar government ordered a high-level judicial inquiry headed by a retired High Court judge and a police inquiry.Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. Expertise He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More