Patna:

The Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Patna Junction has registered an FIR against Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and seven others for their role in blocking railway operations at Sachiwalay Halt on Friday.

The protest, led by Pappu Yadav, aimed to express solidarity with the agitating BPSC candidates demanding the cancellation of the 70th Preliminary examination across Bihar, blocking the railway services at Sachiwalay Halt.

Pappu Yadav and his supporters are facing charges of hindering the smooth functioning of train services and vehicular movement which resulted in inconvenience to the public through the protest.

They have organised demonstrations without the proper permission of the authorities.

Apart from Pappu Yadav, Raju Danveer, Rajiv Mishra, Abhijeet Singh, Faizan Ahmed, Premchand Singh, Suraj Gupta and Purushottam Kumar Singh were booked under the relevant charges at Patna Junction’s GRP police station.

On Friday, Pappu Yadav and his supporters reached the Sachiwalay Halt Railway Station and sat on the railway track for a brief period to stop the train.

The move of Pappu Yadav was a part of his pre-scheduled plan to disrupt the railway operation in support of candidates who have been on a hunger strike for 17 days, demanding the cancellation of the 70th BPSC Combined Preliminary Examination.

The Patna district administration, which is anticipating potential disruptions, has deployed a significant police force at the protest site.

Despite the heavy deployment of the police personnel, Pappu Yadav along with his supporters managed to enter the station premises and sat on the railway tracks.

Pappu Yadav has also vowed to continue the agitation until justice is delivered, including taking the matter to the Supreme Court.

He reaffirmed his commitment to the cause, stating: “We will go to the Supreme Court on this issue. BPSC has done wrong and it has to cancel the entire examination. We will continue to protest on this matter. Our protest will continue in the future until the paper leak in Bihar and the country is stopped.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The controversy surrounding the 70th Combined Preliminary Exam of the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) is assuming critical proportions with every passing day. Students have levelled allegations of irregularities in the examination, the poor quality of the question paper, and the similarities between the questions in the exam and model papers from coaching institutes. They are, therefore, demanding a complete cancellation of the exam and a re-conduct of the examination.

Opposition parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, CPI (M-L), and Jan Suraaj are supporting the students’ demands, slamming the government for jeopardising the future of students. BPSC has rejected these allegations, calling them “irrational” and has appealed to students to focus on preparing for the main exam.

Key developments so far

The controversy surrounding BPSC’s 70th Combined Preliminary Exam, which began on December 6, 2024, continues to be a topic of discussion. The advertisement for this exam was released in September 2024, and 483,000 candidates applied, out of which 325,000 appeared for the exam.

The exam was conducted for 2,031 positions, including 200 SDMs, 136 DSPs, and other gazetted officer posts, making it one of the largest vacancies in recent years.

The preliminary exam was held on December 13, 2024, between 12 PM and 2 PM, with candidates answering 150 questions on general knowledge.

Timeline of events:

December 6: Students raised concerns about normalisation, accusing BPSC of introducing the practice. BPSC dismissed these allegations, calling them “rumours,” stating there were no plans for normalisation.

December 13: A disturbance occurred at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar (Bapu Examination Complex) in Patna, where the question papers were delayed. As a result, BPSC decided to re-conduct the exam for 12,000 candidates from this centre on January 4, 2025.

December 18: Protests intensified at the Gardanibagh protest site, with students demanding the complete cancellation of the exam. The protest still continues.

Irregularities alleged at other centres:

Although BPSC has acknowledged the delay in question paper distribution at the Bapu Examination Complex in Patna, students are alleging irregularities at other exam centres as well:

The Bapu exam centre in Patna, built by the Bihar government in 2023, has also come under scrutiny. While the Bihar government claims it is the largest exam centre in the country, capable of hosting 20,000 candidates at once, coordination between the BPSC, Patna District Administration, and the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) was reportedly poor, contributing to the delay in the exam.

In a press release, BPSC clarified that the Bapu Examination Complex is under the administrative control of the BSEB, with no direct involvement from the BPSC.

Allegations regarding the question paper:

Another significant concern raised by students is the content of the question paper. Many students have noted that the questions appeared to be at the level of a police recruitment exam and closely matched model papers provided by coaching institutes.

In response, BPSC Secretary Satyaprakash Sharma explained that the exam paper is set by an independent panel of experts, and if the paper was simple, the cutoff would be higher, which should not be a cause for concern.

He acknowledged that there were a few similarities with coaching institute papers but downplayed their significance, stating that these questions would not help a candidate pass the exam.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)