Patna: The Bihar Bandh, called by Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, on Sunday over the BPSC civil services preliminary examination controversy turned violent in several places as supporters engaged in vandalism and forced business establishments to close.

Protesters, demanding the cancellation of the examination over alleged paper leak and other irregularities, marched with banners, posters and sticks in various districts, including Patna, Samastipur, Vaishali, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhubani, Katihar and Purnea.

Pappu, wearing a kafan (shroud), led the protest in the state capital.

The demonstrators shouted slogans against chief minister Nitish Kumar and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, forced shops to shut, and assaulted those who tried to resist.

Vehicles belonging to civilians and construction equipment engaged in Patna Metro-related work were also vandalised.

In Vaishali district, trains were stopped at several locations as the bandh supporters squatted on the railway tracks.

In Patna, Pappu, along with his supporters and students, marched from various areas to the Dak Bungalow Square, the city’s traffic nerve centre, and blocked it for around an hour.

Protesters also burnt tyres and bamboo pieces in multiple locations to
block roads.

“I am wearing a kafan to symbolise the end of those who stand against the students and youth of Bihar. If the government is trying to decimate the people and children of the state, then its days are over. The public supports the bandh. The government will have to cancel the examination,”
Pappu said.

The Purnea MP promised a wider agitation across the state if the demands of BPSC exam candidates and students were not met.