Tensions intensified in Bihar on Tuesday as students protesting against alleged irregularities in the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) breached police barricades while conducting a march from Gandhi Maidan towards Raj Bhawan. The students staging the protests are demanding the cancellation of the examination and action over alleged irregularities.

The agitation comes on the lines of similar student protests in other states, and has focused on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE-4). Students are standing in opposition to the proposed two-phase exam across Bihar and are calling for the immediate release of the official TRE-4 advertisement.

A still from the standoff between students and cops

Cops deploy force as students push through barricades

The police personnel were deployed at key intersections along the proposed route to bring the situation under control and regulate traffic.

Authorities had laid barricades along the route leading towards the restricted area and warned protestors against moving ahead. Sub-divisional officer of Police (Law and order), Kamakhya Narayan Singh said senior cops were present at the scene and that talks with the protestors had been positive.

Singh said, “We have put up barricades, and senior officers have also arrived here. A large number of personnel have been deployed, and talks with the students are also underway,” adding that several demands put forth by the students had already been accepted.

He warned that police would deter protestors from entering the restricted area if they tried to march ahead.

Students demand single-stage TRE-4 exam

Congress leader Sushil Kumar, who addressed the protestors, said their demands lay beyond the BPSC exams to include the TRE-4, Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) and Sub-inspector recruitment.

Police deterring students from marching towards Raj Bhawan

Kumar asserted, “We want to state clearly that a single-stage examination must be implemented for TRE 4.0 at all costs, and negative marking should be abolished.” He went on to say that protestors had been staging a hunger strike for nine days and accused the government of failing to engage in meaningful dialogue.

He urged the state’s Chief Minister (CM) Samrat Choudhary to meet a delegation of protesting students.

Meanwhile, the state’s Leader of Opposition (LoP), Tejashwi Yadav wrote a letter to Choudhary, urging the government not to ignore the students’ demands and to initiate constructive dialogue to resolve the issue.

Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has backed the agitation, while 14 student and youth organisations, including the Revolutionary Youth Association, SSAI and Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Morcha, have extended their support to the students too.

Govt announces monthly students camps

In the thick of the escalating protests, Choudhary announced the launch of monthly ‘Vidyarthi Sahyog Shivir’ (student support camps) to address grievances.

The camps will be organised at education institutions on the fourth Tuesday of every month, paving the way for students to raise complaints directly with the government officials concerned. The Bihar government will also provide an online grievance registration and tracking facility through a portal and Helpline 1100.

Earlier, BPSC Exam Controller Rajesh Kumar had shunned allegations of irregularities and paper leaks with the remark, “Haathi Chale Bazaar, Kutta Bhaunke Hazaar.”

Yadav condemned the statement and demanded Kumar’s removal from the Commission, along with an apology. He alleged that such remarks set a dangerous precedent for the treatment of students and the general public.