PATNA — Police used water cannons and detained several job aspirants in central Patna on Tuesday, August 25, after protesters broke through barricades during a march over Bihar’s recruitment examinations.
The pre-announced procession began at Gandhi Maidan, with demonstrators seeking to reach the high-security administrative zone and gherao the Bihar Chief Minister’s residence. The confrontation intensified at Dak Bungalow Crossing as protesters pushed past barricades and police attempted to stop their advance.
Several demonstrators were subsequently taken into custody. No official figure for the number of detainees or any confirmed injuries was immediately released. PTI reported that additional security personnel, including Central Reserve Police Force and Rapid Action Force units, had been deployed at major intersections.
March Stopped at Dak Bungalow Crossing
Aspirants associated with the Bihar Public Service Commission’s Teacher Recruitment Examination, or TRE-4, joined students raising broader concerns about recruitment tests conducted across the state.
Police had erected barricades at major junctions after student organisations announced plans to march from Gandhi Maidan. The procession reached Dak Bungalow Crossing, where protesters jostled with security personnel before breaching the barricades.
Water cannons were deployed as police tried to disperse the crowd and prevent it from entering restricted areas. Visuals from the protest showed demonstrators continuing to raise slogans after the police action.
The march disrupted movement through parts of central Patna, where security had been tightened in anticipation of the demonstration.
TRE-4 Format Remains a Central Dispute
The protesters’ principal demands include conducting TRE-4 through a single-stage examination and removing negative marking from the proposed selection process.
Aspirants have argued that the proposed format could place candidates at a disadvantage and have sought greater transparency in teacher recruitment. Students have also raised concerns about examinations conducted by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission and demanded fair opportunities for Hindi-medium candidates.
Another group participating in the march demanded the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination, citing alleged irregularities and paper leaks. These allegations remain contested and have not resulted in the examination being cancelled.
The demonstration brought several recruitment-related grievances under a single campaign, extending beyond TRE-4 to concerns over the transparency, structure and administration of competitive examinations in Bihar.
Talks Fail to Resolve Key Demands
Student groups had been demonstrating at Patna’s Gardanibagh protest site before Tuesday’s march. Meetings between their representatives and government officials reportedly produced agreement on some issues, but failed to resolve the central demands concerning a single-stage TRE-4 examination and negative marking.
The groups proceeded with the march after those discussions ended without a settlement on the disputed examination format. UNI reported that protesters were also seeking a “One Candidate, One Result” policy and stronger safeguards against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
Bihar Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari said the government had addressed most of the students’ concerns and remained open to further dialogue. He urged representatives of the protesting groups to continue discussions with the administration.
The government had not announced any change to the TRE-4 examination structure by the time of publication. The protest groups, meanwhile, continued to demand a formal decision on their principal concerns rather than verbal assurances.
The confrontation has intensified pressure on the state administration to resolve the dispute before the next stage of the recruitment process. It has also renewed scrutiny of how Bihar’s major competitive examinations are designed, conducted and monitored.
