Mumbai Protests Target Government Negligence Over Student Deaths
Protesters and political parties in Mumbai are demanding accountability for NEET paper leaks and a fatal tree-fall incident that killed an 11-year-old student.
A series of protests erupted in Mumbai starting July 18, 2026, driven by demands for accountability regarding national exam leaks and local infrastructure failures. Initial demonstrations, supported by the Cockroach Janata Party, focused on the NEET paper leaks and the suicides of 21 medical aspirants. On July 21, over 1,000 participants gathered at Shivaji Park in Dadar after police blocked other sites. Greater Mumbai Police responded by filing between 8 and 12 FIRs against up to 900 individuals for violating prohibitory orders.
By July 22, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) expanded the unrest by protesting the death of 11-year-old Vihaan Shrivastav, who was killed when a tree fell on a school bus in Chembur on June 30. The MNS condemned a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) inquiry report that cleared municipal officials of wrongdoing, instead recommending fines for a contractor. MNS leaders demanded the resignation of Garden Department Superintendent Jitendra Pardeshi.
These events intersected as the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) both criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government for the violent handling of NEET protests in Delhi. While the Cockroach Janata Party led the initial student-focused movement, the MNS linked these failures to a broader pattern of administrative negligence and a lack of institutional accountability.
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