Protest over police exam cripples traffic

Patna: Traffic came to a standstill on Wednesday as hundreds of Bihar police constable aspirants protested at Dakbunglow roundabout citing discrepancies in the exam results announced last week.

Police said around 250 exam aspirants gathered at Dakbunglow roundabout around 12.30pm to demand a probe, leading to a heavy traffic jam for more than half an hour around the busiest place in Patna.

“Some protesters misbehaved with commuters, forcing the police to intervene to disperse them,” Kotwali police station house officer (SHO) Ram Shankar Singh said. “The protesters came towards the Income Tax roundabout and blocked it. After giving repeated warnings, the police pushed them to clear the area.” He denied any of the protesters had been lathicharged.

The constable exams were held last year and the results were declared about a week ago. “There were widespread discrepancies in the results,” said Manish Kumar, an aspirant. “Many deserving candidates failed to clear the exam. We want an immediate probe into the matter.”

Police sources said protests and demonstrations are prohibited around Dakbunglow roundabout, as a blockade there triggers heavy traffic jam across the city. The roundabout is considered the busiest in the city, as it connects Station road in the north, Bailey road in the east, Exhibition road in the west and Gandhi Maidan in the south.

“The protesters should stage protests in a designated area so that the general public does not suffer while the police always react very late,” said Rahul Singh, irritated about regular blockades at Dakbunglow roundabout.

“Monetary penalties should be imposed on unruly mobs,” said Aruna Kumari who got stuck in the snarl while on her way to Gandhi Maidan. “Why do we need to suffer because of irregularities in an examination?”

Courtesy: The Telegraph