Bihar: Several policemen injured in stone-pelting by protesting students

PATNA: Several policemen were injured in stone-pelting by students during a protest march towards the Bihar chief minister's residence here on Tuesday, prompting the law enforcers to use batons to disperse the agitators, officials said.

A large number of BPSC (Bihar Public Service Commission) job aspirants, along with other students, began their pre-announced march from Patna's Gandhi Maidan and reached the Dak Bungalow crossing, where police detained several individuals.

As the police tried to stop the agitators at Dak Bungalow crossing using barricades, the students, who wanted to gherao the CM's residence, broke through the obstacles, prompting the law enforcers to use water cannons to disperse them, but instead of budging, they broke into a 'rain dance', they added.

Amid the protests, some students pelted the policemen with stones, injuring several law enforcers, leading to a baton charge to disperse the crowd.

A group of farmers protesting against the government's new township policy also joined the protesting students, displaying posters seeking protection of their land from acquisition.

Pataliputra Greenfield Satellite Township is an 81,730-acre planned urban expansion project aimed at developing Patna as a modern economic hub.

Heavy police deployment has been ensured at all major intersections in the city. Additional forces, including CRPF and RAF personnel, were deployed at Dak Bungalow crossing.

The students have been protesting at Patna's Gardanibagh area for weeks, with their main demands including a single-tier examination in BPSC-TRE 4, transparency in the recruitment process, recruitment exams by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) and fair opportunities for Hindi-medium candidates.

Citing irregularities in the 70th BPSC exams, the protesting students demanded that the exam be cancelled.