As many as five lakh candidates across 900 examination centers appeared for the 70th BPSC exam on Friday. The reality on the ground was strikingly different, as there was unrest at various examination centers in Patna. Relating to the indisputable claims of a leak at the Bapu Examination Center located in Kumhrar, turmoil ensued, further exacerbated by a boycott led by 300 to 400 students because the paper was available on social media before the examination began.
The resulting examination contained violence which seriously affected safety and health, with one instance being Ram Iqbal Singh missing the exam due to a heart condition or cardiac arrest. The situation got worse as protests from some students blocked the transport of ambulances. It was even further more concerning as Singh suffered a cardiac arrest and was announced dead during the treatment in the hospital. A female candidate also fainted because of the pressure built during the examination but survived due to timely medication.
The BPSC chairman Parmar Ravi Manubhai said that apart from Kumhrar, there was no interruption to the exam in all other of the centers 911. Yet, the tally from the Kumhrar center is quite alarming as it raised suspicions when the time taken to answer the OMR sheets and those to complete the set of booklets seemed to vary. The sitting arrangements of 272 candidates and providing only 192 question papers in each hall added a source of unrest and protest as candidates were not pleased with activities organized to protest against this.
Chandrashekhar Singh, Patna District Magistrate who reached the brief scene even said while seeking to suppress any hasty attitude that a case had also been lodged to address such interruption. He denied hitting one of the protesters alleging him to have assaulted one of the protestors, and instead indicated that he was eager to contain the situation to let cars move around without panic in the surroundings. Singh stated that the students’ signature book which was meant to be signed on and passed at the end of the morning session was delayed, and this gave rise to complaints of malpractice in the distribution of the materials for the examination.
DIG Manavjit Singh Dhillon has claimed a paper leak about BPSC which pulls in the Bihars Economic Offences Unit (EOU) to the equation and has assured of swift action against those who are responsible for the leak. The district administration has also promised to give a thorough explanation to the BPSC so that it can take the necessary action.
The protest that took place on Monday wasn’t the first instigated by students regarding the BPSC, a week ago other students were protesting about the changes made to basic appeals which the commission denied unanimously. Yesterday’s incident has discouraged a lot of students from seeking justice from the commission regarding the management of the examination.
