Chandrashekhar Singh, the District Magistrate of Patna, was seen slapping a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirant on Friday after the student protested outside an examination center in the city. The BPSC’s combined preliminary competitive examination, held to recruit candidates for Group A and B posts, saw about five lakh students appear at 945 centers across Bihar.
Protests broke out outside the BAPU Exam Centre in Patna, with candidates alleging mismanagement and a potential paper leak. In a video shared by PTI, Singh is seen slapping a man while police officers attempt to disperse the crowd.
VIDEO | Patna DM Dr Chandrashekhar Singh slaps a #BPSC aspirant protesting outside an examination centre in the city.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/dDE0l8BX8t
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 13, 2024
Protesters claimed there were issues such as a delayed distribution of question papers, with some students not receiving the necessary materials for up to 15 minutes. “Many got the question booklet an hour late and it was snatched away in 10 minutes… With over 200 students, only 175 question papers were provided. We found out the question paper had been leaked. Teachers threatened us to stay quiet,” one student told ANI.
#WATCH | Patna | BPSC Candidates hold protest outside BAPU Exam Centre, Bihar.
The aspirants say, “Half of the students did not even get the OMR sheet or the question booklet for 15 minutes…. Many got the question booklet one hour late and it was snatched away in 10 minutes…… pic.twitter.com/VsKE4Ipwvu
— ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2024
Another student added, “There has not been one BPSC exam that hasn’t been rigged… The seal on the question booklet was torn, and an answer sheet was found in the toilet.”
However, BPSC Chairman Ravi Manu Bhai S Parmar denied the allegations, stating, “There have been no complaints from any of the 912 centers across the state. At one center in Patna, some students raised questions about a change in pattern, but their confusion was clarified. We received reports that the exams went off smoothly. Students had to enter the center an hour before the exam and had no access to phones once inside. This is all mischief in the age of social media.”