The rail police and railway protection force (RPF) on Sunday resorted to lathicharge and tear gas shells to disperse hundreds of aspirants of the Excise Constable recruitment examination at Patna’s Pataliputra railway station. The aspirants were disrupting rail operations and pelting stones towards compartments as they were unable to sit for the exam and blamed it on the mismanagement of the railways and lack of special trains.
A number of aspirants are reported to have been injured, with six of them being arrested, according to railway officers and local police, while around 500 of them have been booked.
Patna Zone IG Jitendra Rana said that no serious injuries occurred during the incident. He said that an FIR will be registered and due action will be taken against the miscreants after their identification.
The incident took place around 11.45 pm on Saturday when a large number of students gathered at Pataliputra railway station to go to their respective exam centres. The chaos continued until early Sunday.
The exam spans June 14-17.
“A lack of adequate transportation arrangements for aspirants travelling to examination centres resulting in a number of them missing the exam and so they have resorted to vent their anger by blocking the trains,” they alleged while talking to reporters.
A student from Saharsa district said that aspirants were forced to wait for several hours before boarding trains, indicating poor arrangements by the railways.
A kiosk-runner at the station, who witnessed the agitation, said: “A group of aspirants blocked the railway tracks and were not letting trains pass. Soon, the administration arrived to clear the blockade, but they were not ready to clear the blockade. Slowly, it turned chaotic and they started throwing stones. Stones reached even my shop. I ran to save myself. The students looked very angry.”
Ravindra Kumar, an aspirant, said that he missed his exam due to overcrowding in the trains. “I missed the exam as my centre was in Samastipur. I travelled from Patliputra. The train was at 9.30am but hasn’t left yet. Several aspirants were arriving late. There was no place to sit. There was no space to even hang from the door,” he said.
Sneha Kumari, another spirant, said that she missed her exam due to disruptions in train services. “The train stopped in the middle and was cancelled. There was another train at 6.30 am but I couldn’t reach there on time. So, I missed my exam,” she said.
Aspirants said that they have been requesting the railways to run additional trains during such examinations, but no arrangements were made.
Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Hajipur, Saraswati Chandra, however, said that adequate arrangements were made for candidates and that some anti-social elements among them ried to create ruckus. “Efforts are underway to identify the miscreants,” he said.
RPF and GRP are jointly investigating the matter. They are checking the CCTV footage and identifying the guilty, Saraswati Chandra said.
Bihar minister Madan Sahni described the incident as “unfortunate” and said that a proper investigation will be conducted. “This is not the first time that such exams were being conducted. They keep happening on a regular basis. But such behaviour is not appropriate. This was an unfortunate incident. Probably, some outsiders might have mixed with the candidates. A proper investigation will be conducted,” he said.
(with agency inputs)