Students who appeared for Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories exam held a protest on Tuesday in Bihar alleging discrepancies in the results.
Later, students protesting against the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) exam 2021 spread to other parts of Bihar.
Protestors squatted on rail tracks at several places on Tuesday, hampering train movement in the state.
Candidates were opposing the Railways decision to hold the exams in two stages, claiming the second stage for final selection tantamounted to "cheating" those who appeared and cleared the first stage of the RRB-NTPC for computer-based test (CBT) which was released on January 15.
Several trains were canceled or ran on alternative routes on Tuesday on account of the protests.
The stir affected several sections of the East Central Railway (ECR) zone and hindered the running of more than 25 trains causing inconvenience to passengers.
Protests were reported from Patna, Nawada, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Buxar and Bhojpur districts.
In Patna, Bihar Police fired tear gas shells and used water cannon to disperse students protesting against the alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories exam, reported ANI.
At some places angry protestors blocked railway tracks, clashed with security forces and vandalized railway property. In Sitamarhi, police fired in the air to disperse angry demonstrators at the railway station.
Meanwhile, alleging anomalies in the result of non-technical popular category (NTPC) exam conducted by Railway Recruitment Board, aspirants in large protested in Prayagraj.
According to Hindustan Times, aspirants in large numbers tried to stop a train at Prayag railway station on Tuesday. However, Police reached the spot with railway officials and pacified the students.
Amid rising protests, Ministry of Railways on Tuesday issued a statement, warning candidates of being 'Debarred for Life' from obtaining Railway job.
Ministry of Railways' official notice with regards to NTPC protests said those candidates found indulging in unlawful activities or vandalism will be rendered 'unsuitable' for Railway/Government jobs.
RRB NTPC protest videos will now be examined by the Ministry with the help of specialised agencies. Upon proper examination, those found in indulging in any of the mentioned activities, will be penalised accordingly. They will be liable to both police action as well as lifetime debarment from a Railway job, said the statement.
The protesters claimed that there was only one examination mentioned in the RRB notification issued in 2019. They accused the officials of playing with the future of the students.
The issue was highlighted when the results were declared on January 15. At that time, the Ministry of Railways issued a clarification in which it said that second stage exam was clearly mentioned in the notification.
Meanwhile, in view of the students' agitation regarding alleged irregularities in the Railway Recruitment Board exam , the Railway Ministry has decided to suspend both the Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) and Level 1 tests.
A spokesperson told news agency ANI that the Railway Ministry has constituted a committee that will listen to the views of the candidates who cleared or failed and following that the committee will submit its report to the Ministry of Railways. Only after that, the Railway Ministry would take a decision regarding the exam. The job aspirants blocked the New Delhi-Kolkata main railway tracks and some others protested in Bihar's Arrah and Sharif Railway station. The protesters also allegedly set a train on fire in Arrah.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
