Patna: A group of students, who have been agitating against alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Board exam, set an express train on fire in Gaya in Bihar.
According to reports, scores of job aspirants and students squatted on railway tracks in the Patna-Gaya railway section, and when the Shramjeevi Express arrived, they initially pelted stones and then set some coaches on fire.
The angry protesters, vandalised property, clashed with security forces and targeted several trains to vent their anger over the alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Board’s Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) exam 2021.
Aditya Kumar, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Gaya confirmed the incident. “The students pelted stones on the train and set it on fire. We are making efforts to identify the agitators on the basis of video evidence we have.
Students have opposed a decision by the Railways to hold the exam in two stages, claiming that the second stage is unfair to those who have cleared the first stage, results for which were released on January 15.
Around 1.25 crore candidates had applied for the exams that had advertised over 35,000 posts from level 2 to level 6, with starting pay ranging from ₹ 19,900 to ₹ 35,400 per month. Around 60 lakh people appeared for the exam.
On the other hand, the government has suspended the exam and has set up a committee to tackle the grievances of the protesting students.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has appealed to the students to not break the law and assured them that their grievances would be seriously addressed.
“I request students not to take the law into their hands. We will seriously address the grievances and concerns raised by them,” the minister said and added that all Railway Recruitment Board chairmen have been asked to listen to the concerns of students, compile them and send them to the committee. “An email address has been set up for this purpose. The committee will go to different parts of the country and listen to grievances,” he said.
