Teaching job aspirants stage protest seeking immediate recruitment in Patna, police resort to lathi charge

"Clashes ensued between the police personnel and the agitators around 1.45 pm, when attempts were made to clear the stretch for vehicular movement. Some demonstrators as well as policemen suffered minor injuries in the melee."

"Security personnel mildly lathi-charged the protesters and fired water cannons to bring the situation under control," Singh explained.

One of the protesters, talking to reporters, claimed that they had been seeking recruitment for months, having cleared Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), but the state government was "indifferent to their plight".

"The state government did not issue any notification for our appointment as such. Six rounds of recruitment have been conducted after declaration of results, and we have been waiting for the seventh phase to commence. Over two lakh posts of teachers in primary and higher secondary schools are supposed to get filled in the seventh phase," the agitator, who did not wish to be identified, added.

Despite attempts, state education minister Chandra Shekhar could not be reached for his comment. Officials of the education department, however, maintained that a notification pertaining to their recruitment would soon be issued.