Bihar Lathicharge on Job Aspirants: JD(U) leader Lalan Singh justifies police action

Patna senior superintendent of police, Mananvjit Singh Dhillon told PTI that the agitators had gathered at Jamal Road crossing here around noon and blocked the thoroughfares, prompting the police to intervene.

Janata Dal (United) national president Lala Singh has justified the police action against job aspirants in Patna. The JD(U) leader said that this is not the first time when a lathicharge has happened. Singh was responding to a question of protesting students being lathicharged. "This keeps happening, is this the first time this has happened? I do not know where lathicharge has taken place, but if it has happened, no one is allowed to break the law. But if someone breaks the law, then naturally law has to be established there. Anyone has the right to protest democratically. At one side, there is a jungle raj and on the other, rule of law is being established. Which rule do you want?" said Lalan Singh. 

Bihar Police lathi-charged aspirants of the state SSC graduate level joint preliminary test demanding cancellation of all sittings of the examination after the first one was annulled. Neither any policeman nor any demonstrator was injured in the incident and five agitators were detained, a senior police official said.

The first three sittings of the examination for recruitment of secretarial level staff in government departments were held on December 23 and 24 last year and the first one was cancelled after reports of question paper leak on social media platforms.

Patna senior superintendent of police, Mananvjit Singh Dhillon told PTI that the agitators had gathered at Jamal Road crossing here around noon and blocked the thoroughfares, prompting the police to intervene.

"It was a huge crowd and they could not be allowed to proceed further. They tried to proceed toward the Bihar Staff Selection Commission's (BSSC) office. Mild use of force was resorted to as they refused to disperse despite an offer that a five-member delegation can visit the BSSC office along with a magistrate and submit a memorandum," he said.

The protestors clashed with the police and pelted stones on security personnel. "The security personnel were then forced to resort to mild lathi charge to disperse the protesters," the SSP said.

The agitators later told reporters that the question papers of the first three sittings of the BSSC examination were leaked on several social media platforms hours before the tests began. While the Commission cancelled the examination of the first one, they demanded that the BSSC cancel all.

BSSC officials could not be reached for their comments despite repeated attempts. Senior RJD leader and state Environment Minister Tej Pratap Yadav expressed anguish over the lathi-charge on BSSC aspirants and assured that the government will take action against those involved in the question paper leak.

The opposition BJP has condemned the lathi-charge. In a statement senior party leader and former chief minister of the state Tarkishore Prasad said, "The government must accept demands of the aspirants and cancel all sittings of the combined graduate-level exams". (With agency inputs)