Shovit Rai, 13, from Bhojpur was among a group of children arrested on 20 May for allegedly being Maoists. They were taken from Panitanki Bajar in Bhojpur by drunken army personnel and badly beaten. Among those arrested, Jasin Rai was freed four days later while Shovit and Bam Bahadur Rai were only released on 16 August. After he was released, Shovit said, "Three drunk soldiers beat us up real badly and told us to sign a paper that said we were sent by Commander Dipesh to do reki and then they locked us up." Bhojpur DSP Nalprasad Upadhya says investigations showed the arrested were innocent so they were released. However the DAO forced the three children who had never been involved in Maoist activity to sign \'surrender' papers before their release. Another boy arrested with Shovit, Santosh, has not yet been released.