Job aspirants who were protesting for the release of the Bihar Teacher Eligibility Test (BTET) and Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) notifications were thrashed mercilessly by the city police on Monday.
According to the protestors, the Bihar government led by the Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar has been promising them jobs since 2019. The state government even announced that the notification would come by the end of January 2022.
When the government failed to send any notification, the candidates protested earlier in May following which they were promised things will settle by July end.
However, no progress was made leaving many unemployed.
“For the last three years, we have been given only assurance but no jobs. The deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav had promised to release the notification once his cabinet is formed. But nothing has been done so far,” said an angry protestor.
On Monday the protestors clashed with the police who in response lathi-charged and threw water canons at them.
Speaking to PTI, the district magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said that trouble erupted at the Dak Bungalow crossing where two separate groups, one comprising teachers’ eligibility test qualified candidates seeking jobs and the other consisting of workers of the Jan Adhikar Party, gathered and tried to proceed towards the Raj Bhavan, situated a couple of kilometers away.
Meanwhile, a video clip went viral where one of the distraught protestors is heard speaking to the media. But before he could complete his sentence, one of the police officers drags him by his hair.
At this point, the Additional District Magistrate KK Singh is seen raining blows on the young protester who can be seen rolling on the ground, screaming in pain, while holding the tricolour. The flag was snatched away by one police official.
Later, as Singh tried to leave the spot in his government vehicle, a section of the press blocked and clashed with him.
The DM, when asked about the episode, said the administration has set up a two-member inquiry committee to look into the allegations and examine the video footage.
The committee will submit its report in two days and action may be taken accordingly, he said.
The DM also added that a case will be lodged against those taking part in the demonstration as well. No processions are allowed at the Dak Bungalow crossing and hence, the protesters will be booked under relevant sections, he said.
Reacting to the whole episode, the Office of Tejashwi Yadav tweeted from its official Twitter handle, “Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister spoke to Patna District Magistrate over (the) phone. DM has constituted an inquiry committee under the leadership of Patna Central SP and DDC that why ADM himself lathi-charged the candidates, what was the situation? If found guilty, action will be taken against the concerned officer.”
Meanwhile, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted that the real face of the JD(U)-RJD government has been exposed. He said, “Nitish Kumar’s police, who talked about giving 20 lakh jobs, killed the teacher candidate who was protesting in Patna in an inhuman way.
The Bihar government and its officials not only bled the teacher’s face but also insulted the tricolour. This is the real face of JDU-RJD government.”
(with PTI inputs)
