Patna: Widespread protests erupted across the state on Sunday as student organisations condemned the recent police lathicharge on teacher aspirants in Patna.In Patna, student organisations gathered near the GPO roundabout around 4.30pm to express support for the teacher aspirants. Protesters raised slogans against the NDA govt.Similar protests were witnessed earlier in Samastipur, Buxar, Saharsa, Bhagalpur and Rohtas, where activists of the CPI(ML), along with student groups, raised slogans against the govt.Leaders of CPI(ML) described the police action as “undemocratic”, alleging the students were protesting peacefully when they were lathicharged on May 8. CPI(ML), All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) jointly condemned the incident and termed the lathicharge a “conspiracy to suppress the democratic voice of the youth.”The three organisations demanded immediate announcement of TRE-4 vacancies, acceptance of all legitimate demands of the candidates, strict action against the police personnel responsible for the lathicharge and proper medical treatment and compensation for the injured students.Meanwhile, police on Saturday arrested four candidates and sent them to jail on charges of rioting and stone-pelting during a protest near Gandhi Maidan on Friday. The protesters had been demanding issuance of the TRE-4 notification and appointment of candidates through a single examination, as done earlier.An FIR was registered at Gandhi Maidan police station against four named persons and around 5,000 unidentified people in connection with the protest.
