Patna, 25 August

Protesting students broke through police barricades in their bid to gherao the Bihar chief minister's residence here even as the law enforcers used water cannons to disperse the agitators.

A large number of BPSC (Bihar Public Service Commission) TRE-4 aspirants, along with other students, began their pre-announced march from Patna's Gandhi Maidan and reached Dak Bungalow crossing where police detained several individuals.

The students, many of whom were carrying the tricolour in their hands, jostled with the police and broke through barricades at the Dak Bungalow crossing.

They have been protesting at Patna's Gardanibagh area for weeks, with their main demands including a single-tier examination in BPSC-TRE 4, transparency in the recruitment process, recruitment exams by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) and fair opportunities for Hindi-medium candidates. Citing irregularities in the 70th BPSC exams, the protesting students demanded that the exam be cancelled.