Complaint filed with NHRC against police action on BPSC students in Patna

Advocate files NHRC complaint over police lathi charge on protesting BPSC students demanding re-examination due to paper leak.

Bihar based advocate has complaint to National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with regard to the police lathi charge on the protesting students of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) who were demanding re-examination of 70th BPSC Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination (CCE) following the alleged paper leak.

Supreme Court advocate Brajesh Singh has requested the NHRC to intervene in the matter on the basis of various media reports and demanded that the Commission should call for Action Taken Report (ATR) and detailed information on the incident from the Chief Secretary (CS) and Director General of Police (DGP) of Bihar.

Mr. Singh also demanded departmental action, lodging of FIR against senior police officers and others responsible for the incident.

“On Tuesday at 9:15 p.m., I have lodged a detailed complaint through email regarding the serial lathicharge by Patna Police on BPSC candidates on December 6, December 26  and December 29, because excess force has been used in violation of the Supreme Court and many related guidelines. This kind of action by the police within a month seems more punitive than crowd removal,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu.

Mr. Singh alleged that during the exam various irregularities surfaced specifically at the Bapu Exam Centre (BEC) where more than 12000 students appeared for the examination and the commission failed to ensure a fair exam in the state capital.

“In December there were three major protest held by the BPSC aspirant in the Patna and in all of these protest police has used excessive force to the extent that students bones were fractured and they were hit like animal even in the third consecutive incident of lathicharge which accrued on 29th of December 29th when the students had gathered although without permission but they were protesting peacefully without any kind of weapons or objects and they were in the folded hand before the police,” Mr. Singh said.

He added that police resorted brutal lathicharge on the student along with the watering through the water cannons in the chilling winter night, the excessive use of force in the form of lathicharge is the clear cut case of aggravated form of violations of human right.