Railway exam aspirants protest on tracks in Patna

Patna: Thousands of Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exam aspirants gathered on the Kolkata-New Delhi main railway line at Rajendra Nagar Terminal on Tuesday in a five-hour protest against what they deemed "discrepancies" in recently published results as well as the government's decision to hold two exams.

Protesting students were candidates of the Non-Technical Popular Categories exam (NTPC 2021), and results of the CBT-1 exam were published on January 15, which shortlisted successful candidates for the CBT-2 exam.

The protest disrupted several trains which had to be re-routed via Gaya and Patliputra rail sections to go towards Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati and other parts of north Bihar. Protestors occupied the tracks for hours and were eventually removed by police, who have filed an FIR against several for blocking the tracks.

Tear gas shells were fired and a baton charge conducted unsuccessfully as protestors continued to occupy the tracks until late evening.

"There was only one examination mentioned in the RRB notification 2019. Now, RRB has issued fresh notifications where it mentioned two examinations. Many of the selected candidates are disqualified in the second examination. This is complete cheating by RRB. Its officials are playing with the futures of the students," said Randhir Sahay, a student, protesting at Rajendra Nagar Terminal, Patna.

Another student, Rohan Rajput said: "We will not vacate railway tracks unless and until the Railway Minister announces one examination for Group-D."

Protestors were eventually removed by 9 PM according to Patna district magistrate (DM) Chandrashekhar Singh, ANI reported.

However the Ministry for Railways has denied the allegations poses by the students in an issued circular, which states that appearing for a second exam was clearly mentioned in the information given to candidates. The Ministry said that if a candidate has chosen for more than one level, then he/she will have to appear in the corresponding second stage CBT for each level.

NTPC and Level 1 exams have been cancelled amidst the massive protests, a Railways Recuritment Board spokesperson said on Wednesday. The Railways has formed a committee to examine the griveances of the protesting candidates, news agency PTI reported.