- विज्ञापन -
Patna: Protests in Patna against the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) escalated on Sunday as police used lathi-charge and water cannons to break up a crowd of thousands of demonstrators.
The protesters were demanding the cancellation of the 70th BPSC Combined Preliminary Examination, conducted on December 13, citing alleged widespread irregularities. They had gathered at Gandhi Maidan, refusing to leave despite police attempts to disperse them.
As the protests grew more intense, police turned to water cannons to manage the crowd. When this tactic was ineffective, they resorted to physically charging at the protesters. Witnesses reported that demonstrators faced tear gas and physical force, with some protesters, including women, being mishandled. One participant, Mohammad Gulzar from Begusarai, fainted during the protests and was rushed to Patna Medical College and Hospital for treatment.
Detainees claimed that authorities mischaracterized their peaceful assembly as a disturbance. Despite the district administration denying permission for the gathering, the students organized a sit-in in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi and held a “Chhatra Sansad” to voice their demands peacefully.
In the evening, joined by Jan Suraj Party leader Prashant Kishor, the protesters attempted to march to the Chief Minister’s residence. However, police set up barricades at JP Golambar to stop them, leading Kishor and other students to sit on the road in protest, causing significant traffic disruptions in the area.
The police indicated that they might file FIRs against the demonstrators in response to the escalating situation. As the protests continued into their tenth day, the main issue was allegations of a paper leak at the Bapu exam center. Although the BPSC conducted a re-examination at that center, it maintained that the reported irregularities were isolated incidents and did not warrant a full cancellation of the exam.
BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar Singh reiterated that the 70th CCE exam would proceed as planned in April, urging candidates to focus on their studies instead of protesting. He claimed that the exam was conducted transparently and emphasized that only a small group was protesting without substantial evidence to back their claims.
Meanwhile, the BPSC announced the release of admit cards for the 70th Integrated Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination re-exam scheduled for January 4, 2024, which will apply only to around 12,000 candidates who took the December 13 exam at the Bapu Campus Exam Centre in Patna.
