Bihar Police SI aspirants march to CM residence against cancellation of Mains exam, demand physical test dates

The candidates, who had been staging a peaceful sit-in at the Gardanibagh protest site for the past 10 days, took to the streets claiming that the administration had turned a blind eye to their grievances.

The protesters stated that after qualifying the Preliminary examinations in January and the Mains examination held on May 28 for 1,799 Sub-Inspector posts, they had been rigorously undergoing physical training for the past four months. However, the examination was abruptly cancelled just days ahead of the scheduled Physical Efficiency Test (PET), with the authorities citing "unavoidable reasons."

"Our physical [test] dates must be announced, and the cancellation of the Mains examination must be revoked! We have been running and training for the last four months. Suddenly, our Mains exam has been cancelled citing 'unavoidable reasons.' They must conduct our physical test and revoke the Mains cancellation," one of the protesters told ANI.

"We have only two demands: the Mains exam that has been cancelled without giving any valid reason must be reinstated, and the dates for our physical test must be declared. Around 10,000 candidates are asking for just 10 minutes from the Chief Minister to hear our grievances. It is a completely peaceful march, and we will place our facts only before the CM," said Anand Mohan Singh, an aspirant from Jehanabad.

The aspirants also raised questions over the procedure of the cancellation, pointing out that the decision was taken while a probe by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) was still underway.

Gaurav Kumar, an aspirant from Vaishali, alleged contradictions between the recruiting commission and the investigating agency.

"We slogged for months. Our physical test was approaching, and suddenly a notice arrived stating the Mains stands cancelled due to 'unavoidable reasons.' The EOU was already probing the matter, so why was the exam cancelled before the final investigation report was submitted? Officials of the Commission and the EOU are giving conflicting reasons regarding which centres had issues. We have dedicated nearly a year and a half to this recruitment cycle and demand that the cancellation be revoked," he said.

Another candidate, Guddu Kushwaha, noted that candidates met several senior officials, including the Home Secretary, the Commission Chairman, and the EOU DIG, but received no concrete explanation. "How can an exam be cancelled without placing concrete evidence or reasons before the public?" he asked.

Flagging the emotional and physical toll on candidates, a female aspirant, Hema, said, "When does an exam usually get cancelled? If any malpractice or irregularity is detected, you cancel it immediately after the exam, right? Or you cancel it for the specific centers where fraud took place. Five months after conducting the exam, four months after declaring the results, and just five days before the physical testwho cancels an exam at that stage? This is blatant injustice to us."

Simultaneously, members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) also staged a protest in New Delhi demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, following which several demonstrators were detained by the police

The agitating candidates maintained that they would continue their peaceful demonstration until their delegation was granted an audience with the Chief Minister to submit their memorandum. (ANI)