Bihar BPSC Exam Protest: Police Use Water Cannon on Students

India – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – Bihar BPSC exam protest turned tense on Tuesday after police used water cannons to stop demonstrators from marching toward the governor’s house in Patna. Dozens of protesters were detained as tensions rose on the streets.

The protest was led by students and job seekers who took the December 2024 exam. They believe the test was unfair and want it cancelled completely.

More than 300,000 candidates had appeared for the exam. Only about 2,000 posts were up for grabs. The results came out in June after two rounds of testing and a final interview.

Many students claim the question paper was leaked before the exam. They say this gave some candidates an unfair edge over others.

The state government has denied these claims so far. However, officials did agree to hold a re-test at one exam centre earlier this year.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters broke through police barricades in Patna. Visuals from news agency ANI showed the crowd pushing forward before police responded with water cannons.

Several protesters were also seen being placed into a police bus. The bus was then driven away from the protest site.

A senior police officer told Reuters that the situation had calmed down. He added that most of the protesters’ demands had already been addressed by the government.

Bihar’s Education Minister also spoke about the issue. He said the government had responded to the students’ concerns, though he did not share full details.

He also said the government remains open to talks with the protesting students. This suggests more discussions could happen in the coming days.

This is not the first exam-related protest in India this year. A similar movement led by young people forced the resignation of the federal education minister back in July.

That protest was organized by a group called the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP. It gained massive support from students across the country.

In nearby Jharkhand state, a similar protest actually worked. Officials there agreed to cancel their civil service exam completely after student pressure.

Now many are watching to see if Bihar will follow the same path. Students say they will continue protesting until their demands are fully met.

The CJP has also announced a new march in New Delhi next month. The group says the federal government has not kept some of its earlier promises.

One major promise was to withdraw police cases filed against protesters. The CJP claims this promise has not been honored yet.

As student anger grows across Indian states, exam-related protests seem to be becoming more common. The coming weeks could bring more clarity on how Bihar’s government plans to respond.