Police baton-charge Bihar job aspirants during protest in Patna

Patna: Job aspirants in Bihar held a protest here on Monday to press their demand for the announcement of a date for the constable recruitment test in the state, and breached security barricades, prompting police personnel to baton-charge them, PTI reported.

Protesters, carrying placards, gathered near Dak Bunglow crossing in Patna and raised slogans against the government.

The demonstrators demanded an announcement of the total vacancies and the exam date for the recruitment of constables in the Bihar Police.

Speaking to PTI, Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma said, “Protesters gathered at Dak Bunglow crossing in large numbers and disrupted vehicular movement there. They also breached the police barricades and reached near the Kotwali Police station, which is a restricted area."

He also said, "We requested them to vacate the area as it had caused a massive traffic jam. As they refused to pay heed to the appeal, the police resorted to baton-charge to disperse them."

The job aspirants claimed that several protesters were injured in the baton charge.

In December last year, there was a similar incident in Bihar, where job aspirants were attacked. Chaos erupted during a protest in Patna over the alleged leak of a question paper of the December 13, 2024, combined preliminary exam conducted by BPSC, prompting the police to baton-charge job aspirants.

Job seekers claimed that several protesters were injured during the police action, but a senior officer denied the charge.

"Lathi's charge on youths who had their hands folded is the height of cruelty. In the BJP rule, youths demanding employment are beaten with sticks. Be it UP, Bihar or Madhya Pradesh - if youths raise their voice, they are brutally beaten," Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a post in Hindi on her WhatsApp channel. Her brother and the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, also condemned the police action then.