Bihar CM Residence Protest: Students Break Barricades, Police Use Water Cannons

Hundreds of students and BPSC aspirants clashed with police in Patna on Tuesday after breaking through barricades while marching towards Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s residence.

The protesters are demanding, among other measures, the cancellation of the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination over alleged irregularities.

The confrontation began after protesters removed barricades placed along the route to stop them from reaching the Chief Minister’s residence. Police attempted to contain the march, leading to a face-off between the two sides.

Security personnel used lathicharge and water cannons at several points to disperse the protesters. Despite the police action, the students continued moving towards the CM’s residence. Several protesters were detained as authorities attempted to bring the situation under control.

The march started around 10 am from Gandhi Maidan, with students raising slogans as they proceeded towards the Chief Minister’s residence. Barricades had been placed along the route, but protesters breached them as they advanced.

The situation escalated further after a farmers’ group protesting over land-related issues joined the agitation while carrying black flags. Following the development, the CRPF was deployed at the protest site.

The students have been staging protests in Patna’s Gardanibagh area for several weeks. Their demands include holding a single-tier examination for BPSC-TRE 4, greater transparency in recruitment, conducting recruitment examinations through the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), and ensuring fair opportunities for Hindi-medium candidates.

The march came a day after representatives of the protesting students held talks with the Bihar government. Although the discussions were described as positive, the protesters decided to continue their agitation and announced plans to march from Gandhi Maidan to the Chief Minister’s residence.

Student leader Saurav Kumar said the talks with government representatives had been “positive”, but the protesters would continue pressing their demands, including their call for a single examination.

“We want to meet Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary because the government keeps making us hold talks with junior officials, after which the matter is closed. If we are given an opportunity for talks with the Chief Minister and an official notice is issued, we are ready to end our protest,” a student leader said during Tuesday’s demonstration.

He said the protesters had been asked to nominate a delegation for further discussions, but they made it clear that they wanted to meet either the Chief Minister or the Education Minister.

“Our first demand is that we should be allowed to meet Samrat Choudhary. The second option is that we should be allowed to meet the Education Minister. We will not meet anyone else,” he said.

Amid the ongoing agitation, the Bihar government announced on Tuesday the launch of a monthly ‘Vidyarthi Sahyog Shivir’ (Student Support Camp) to address student grievances.

Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the camps would be held at educational institutions on the fourth Tuesday of every month, allowing students to raise their concerns directly with the officials concerned.

“The Bihar government is launching Vidyarthi Sahyog Shivir starting today to ensure prompt resolution of students’ grievances,” Choudhary said in a social media post.

He added that students would also have the option to register complaints online and track their progress through a dedicated portal and helpline number 1100.

The government’s new outreach programme comes amid sustained protests across Bihar over examination and recruitment-related issues, with students continuing to demand action over alleged irregularities in the 70th BPSC examination.