Patna, February 10: A student preparing for engineering entrance examination was killed and over a dozen others were injured during a violent protest in Patna against private coaching centres, which the students alleged were minting money but not completing courses before commencement of entrance tests.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar immediately called a meeting of HRD officials and policemen. Later, he instituted an inquiry under the Patna District Magistrate.
Though a select group of students started protest on Monday evening after a coaching institute owner, Neeraj Kumar, beat up a student following an argument, over 500 students from various coaching centres started violent protests at Naya Tola, Bazar Samiti and Bhikna Pahari areas in the city, which have the maximum number of coaching centres.
Sachin, 21, a student from Naya Tola, who had joined the protest, was shot in his chest in accidental firing from a gun possessed by a private security guard. As some students had tried to take the gun from the guard, the weapon went off, hitting Sachin, who succumbed to his injuries in Patna Medical College and Hospital.
Protests continued for three hours till late evening. Patna SSP Vinit Vinayak said: “We suspect involvement of some anti-social elements during the protest.”
—Agencies