Student protesters demanding a single test for teachers’ recruitment in Bihar clashed with police on Tuesday after breaking through barricades while marching towards the governor and chief minister Samrat Choudhary’s residences in Patna.
The protesting students — mostly aspirants for Teachers’ Recruitment Exams to be conducted by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) next month — under the banner of leftist Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) planned to picket Choudhary’s residence after marching from iconic Gandhi Maidan. Several protesters were detained when the marchers reached Dak Bungalow crossing.
The student organisations have been opposing the BPSC’s move to fill 33,000 teacher posts following a preliminary and main examination.
Deep Dive
What are the main demands of the students protesting against the BPSC examination in Bihar?
Why did the protests in Bihar escalate to clashes with police?
How is the Bihar government addressing student grievances amid the protests?
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Tight security arrangements were in place from Gandhi Maidan to the CM’s residence, with the authorities deploying anti-riot Rapid Action Force and CRPF along with the state police in central Patna ahead of the march.
{{/usCountry}}Tight security arrangements were in place from Gandhi Maidan to the CM’s residence, with the authorities deploying anti-riot Rapid Action Force and CRPF along with the state police in central Patna ahead of the march.
{{/usCountry}}Police used water cannons to disperse the protesters at JP Golambar at Gandhi Maidan. Police said they used force when protesters broke barricades and allegedly threw stones. Deputy superintendent of police Kamakhya Narayan Singh was among the policemen injured.
The protesters also scuffled with CRPF personnel at Dak Bungalow roundabout. One student suffered head injuries, and another fell unconscious.
“We repeatedly urged the crowd to maintain peace. We told them that we will help them send a delegation to authorities concerned to register their demands,” Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma told reporters. “Water cannons were used when the situation became tense.”
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The march was organised on the day the chief minister launched a Vidhyarthi Sahyog Shivir (Student Support Camp) for redressing complaints in educational institutions, and for feedback to improve the facilities. The camps will be organised monthly on the fourth Tuesday in educational institutions. Students can file their complaints and suggestions to officials for fast disposal of the grievances.
“Every student’s voice heard, every problem resolved—this is the resolve, this is the effort,” the CM said in a social media post.
Another stir turns violent
Meanwhile, hundreds of nursing students who have been protesting outside Bihar Health Sciences University (BHSU) in Patna against alleged irregularities in the examination results clashed with police on Tuesday, leaving several students and two policemen injured. Four protestors were detained on the charges of ransack and attack on police team.
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Protesters alleged that police used baton charge when they arrived university campus with their demands over suspected irregularities in the results.