An FIR has been registered against News18 India anchor Aman Chopra in Ranchi for entering the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of Sadar Hospital and recording a video next to a student who had been on a hunger strike. The video was published on Chopra’s personal YouTube channel called The Aman Podcast (TAP).
Chopra claimed he was detained while having breakfast on Monday and questioned for nearly two hours before police handed him a copy of the FIR.
In a video on social media, Chopra said he was booked and served a notice over a case related to his visit to the hospital to speak with a student, claiming that “many people, including Congress leaders and media personnel from various outlets, had gone there to speak with the student,” but that the Jharkhand government had “selectively targeted” him.
छात्रों पर लाठीचार्ज, पत्रकारों पर FIR, जो मुझपर भी हो चुकी है लेकिन तानाशाह मोदी हैं pic.twitter.com/Vrycl22tkS
— Aman Chopra (@AmanChopra_) August 10, 2026
“It makes one wonder: when protests happen at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, people ask, ‘What is the difference?’ Protests took place at Jantar Mantar, and everyone covered them; there were no restrictions or actions taken against anyone there,” he said. “Journalists are being stopped from covering the students’ protests.” He named the hospitalised student as Rahul Kranti, who he said had lost five kilograms and suffered breathing difficulties after being on hunger strike, and said the FIR was “the price one pays for speaking the truth”.
A copy of the FIR was shared on social media. The complaint was addressed to the Station House Officer of Lower Bazar police station by the Civil Surgeon-cum-Chief Medical Officer of Ranchi. It stated that Chopra had visited the HDU, a “critical medical area”, on August 9 “without adhering to necessary precautions or the hospital’s established standards regarding infection control and patient safety,” and had carried out video recording there. The case was lodged under BNS sections 125, 271, 272, 329 (3) and 223 (b).
It sought an “impartial investigation” into the unauthorised entry, the alleged breach of safety and infection-control protocols, and whether any patient’s private medical information had been recorded or published without consent. The letter noted that the footage was being “published nationally” by TAP.
दरबारी पालतुओं सुनो….
— Aman Chopra (@AmanChopra_) August 8, 2026
अनशन करने वाला छात्र ICU पहुंच गया है। उसका वज़न 5kg कम हुआ और उसे साँस लेने में तकलीफ़ हो रही है लेकिन तुम्हारी यहां आने की हिम्मत नहीं है।
फिर पूछते हैं, जंतर मंतर और झारखंड में क्या फ़र्क़ है।
7PM TAP के YT channel पर LIVE pic.twitter.com/YBUkcs1JMJ
In his video beside the ailing student, Chopra branded rival journalists “courtier” pets serving the Congress party, accused “Congress-aligned” reporters of chasing views while ignoring Rahul Kranti’s hospitalisation, and mocked the “Azadi Brigade” and “Dafli Gang”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was monitoring the police investigation, calling for “a transparent and proportionate investigation that does not obstruct legitimate journalism”.
The FIR came as the students’ protest, over alleged irregularities in exams conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), entered its third week. Thousands marched towards the Assembly on Monday and police deployed water cannons and a lathi charge after protesters breached several barricades, injuring at least five demonstrators, according to The Hindu.
The Jharkhand government has agreed to cancel three exams, including the JPSC Combined Civil Services test, but has resisted scrapping the JSSC Combined Graduate Level exam, proposing instead a judicial inquiry headed by a retired judge. Meanwhile, Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike for the past nine days, was admitted to a hospital in Ranchi on Monday as his health deteriorated after participating in a march.
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