Police fire in air, use teargas as angry exam aspirants block tracks near Patna

Police fired in the air, lobbed teargas shells and resorted to a lathi-charge after hundreds of competitive exam aspirants blocked railway tracks on the outskirts of Patna, alleging that inadequate train arrangements could prevent them from reaching their examination centres on time, officials said on Sunday, 14 June.

Six people have been arrested, while efforts are underway to identify and track down others involved in the unrest at Pataliputra railway station, where railway personnel and security staff were injured in stone-pelting.

According to Amresh Kumar, inspector-general of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for the East Central Zone, which covers a large part of Bihar, the situation escalated around midnight on Saturday when more than 200 young men gathered at the station.

The students were travelling to various parts of Bihar for the Excise Department recruitment examination scheduled on Sunday. Officials said trains had been operating to ferry candidates across the state, but many aspirants complained that the arrangements were insufficient given the large number of examinees and feared they would not reach their allotted centres in time.

"The protesters alleged that the arrangements were inadequate and sat on the tracks demanding a special train that would enable them to reach their destinations in time for the examination," Kumar said.

The senior officer said he reached the station along with RPF and Government Railway Police personnel after receiving information about the disruption. Railway authorities were informed about the sudden rush and a special train was arranged, arriving at around 2.00 am.

However, those occupying the tracks allegedly refused to disperse even after the special service was introduced. When police attempted to clear the tracks and restore train movement, clashes broke out and stones were hurled at security personnel and railway officials, Kumar said. "Normalcy was restored by around 3.00 am. As a last resort, we had to order a lathi-charge and the use of tear gas shells," he added.

A statement issued by the office of the superintendent of police (railways), Patna, said eight rounds were also fired in the air to disperse the crowd.

While an unspecified number of security personnel and railway employees sustained injuries in the stone-pelting, officials said no passengers were hurt and no railway property was damaged.

Kumar claimed that anti-social elements may have exploited the frustration among students to trigger violence. "It appears that many of the young men present at the station were anti-social elements who wanted to create trouble so that the examination would be cancelled," he said.

The disruption affected railway operations for several hours. Two passenger trains and a goods train remained stranded, while other services scheduled to pass through Pataliputra station were diverted until normal operations resumed.

The RPF and GRP have sought assistance from Patna Police and will share CCTV footage from the station to identify those involved in vandalism and violence. Patna Zone inspector-general Jitendra Rana said an FIR would be registered in connection with the incident. "Those involved are being identified with the help of CCTV footage and appropriate action will be taken against them," he said.

Reacting to the incident, Bihar deputy chief minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said it was unfortunate that such unrest had occurred on the eve of a competitive examination. "It is unfortunate that such an incident took place on the eve of a competitive exam. Youngsters, too, should be mindful of decorum," he said.

With PTI inputs