Chaos at Bihar’s Patliputra station ahead of excise constable exam; police resort to lathi-charge, fire tear gas shells

A mob disrupted railway traffic on the outskirts of Patna forcing police to fire tear gas shells and resort to lathi-charge, an official said on Sunday, June 14.

The mob has alleged a lack of adequate number of trains for a competitive exam.

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Trouble erupted around midnight when “more than 200 young men, posing as students appearing for competitive exams” turned up at the Pataliputra station, said Amresh Kumar, the Inspector General in charge of the Railway Protection Force for East Central Zone that covers a major part of Bihar.

“Trains had been ferrying students to various parts of the state for the exams of the Excise Department scheduled on Sunday. The troublemakers alleged that arrangements were inadequate and squatted on the tracks, demanding a special train that could help them reach their destination in time,” PTI quoted the senior official as saying.

To manage the situation, Kumar rushed to the spot along with a contingent of RPF and GRP.

The IG said police had informed the Railway authorities about the sudden rush, adding that a special train later arrived at around 2 a.m.

However, several people squatting on the tracks had refused to budge. They allegedly started pelting stones when police personnel tried to disperse them.

“Normalcy was restored at the station, where tight security arrangements are in place, by 3 a.m. Though, as a last resort, we had to order lathi-charge and firing of tear gas shells,” Kumar said.

The IG further stated that it appeared to them that several of the young men at the station were “anti-social elements,” who were looking forward to foment trouble so that the exams would get cancelled.

“Their antics affected traffic on the station where two passenger and a goods train remained stranded for hours. Other trains which had to pass through Pataliputra station, were run on alternative routes till normalcy was restored,” the IG said.

Police is now looking into CCTV footage to identify those involved in vandalism.

Patna Zone IG Jitendra Rana said they were in touch with the GRP and Railway officials. Rana added that an FIR is being lodged in connection with the incident.