Patna: Patna district magistrate Chandra Shekhar Singh has been caught on the wrong foot again. This time, he was seen slapping a Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam aspirant in the midst of a protest outside BAPU Exam Centre in Patna on Friday. A video clip of the DM hitting the student on his cheek went viral on social media.
A chaos-like situation had arisen near the exam centre when a batch of students resorted to protest, alleging that the question paper of the 70th preliminary test (PT) of the BPSC mains was leaked. The PT was being conducted at 912 centres across the state. The BPSC, however, dismissed the allegations as unfounded rumors.
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Protests over alleged paper leak
The commotion erupted after 1 pm, with candidates at the Bapu Center accusing the authorities of indulging in the question paper leak. Situation at the Bapu Centre worsened after more examinees joined the protests, demanding immediate clarification from the authorities. Sensing trouble, Patna DM Chandra Shekhar Singh reached the spot along with additional security personnel to manage the agitated crowd. The DM reportedly slapped one of the arguing students at the exam centre.
A senior advocate of Patna high court condemned Singh’s act of slapping the student, adding that it amounted to attack on the dignity of an individual. “Batton charge to control the law and order or prevent unruly crowds from going berserk by the police is a different matter. In such a situation, no individual is targetted. But in the DM’s case, he had targeted an individual,” said the advocate.
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Singh led security forces to thrash legislators in Vidhan Sabha
Earlier, Singh was seen leading the security personnel brutally thrashing legislators of the opposition parties in the state legislature premises in March 2021 during the enactment of Bihar Special Armed Police Act. The act sought to empower the armed police forces and the opposition leaders had stalled the proceedings of the house.
Students’ allegations
A section of the students alleged that the question paper of the examination was leaked and that there was mismanagement at the centre, including a delay in the distribution of question papers. “Half of the students did not even get the OMR sheet or the question booklet for 15 minutes…. Many got the question booklet one hour late and it was snatched away in 10 minutes… Where the capacity of students is more than 200, why only 175 question papers were brought?… We discovered that the question paper has been leaked… Teachers were threatening us to stay quiet…” a protesting student told a news agency.
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BPSC refutes allegations of question paper leak
In a statement, the BPSC termed the allegations as mischievous and baseless. Officials emphasized that robust measures were implemented to ensure the exam’s integrity, including advanced monitoring systems. “The claims of a paper leak are unfounded. We have deployed stringent mechanisms to prevent any malpractice,” said a BPSC official.
Live monitoring of exam centres through CCTV surveillance
To maintain transparency, the examination was monitored live via over 25,000 CCTV cameras. A command control center, established at the BPSC headquarters, oversaw the examination process. Technical teams stationed at district-specific desks monitored activities at individual centers in real time. Any suspicious behavior, such as discussions among candidates, was flagged immediately, and center superintendents were alerted to take action.
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Command center measures
Officers deployed at the command center closely monitored the proceedings at all exam centres across the state. Recorded irregularities are set to undergo detailed investigations. This year’s examination offered 2,031 vacancies, making it the largest recruitment drive in BPSC’s history. Out of 4.80 lakh registered candidates, attendance was notably lower compared to previous years.
