Patna, Feb 17 : Hundreds of candidates protesting against alleged rigging in the 70th BPSC Preliminary Examination took to the streets of Patna on Monday. Popular educator 'Khan Sir' joined the protest, asserting that the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) must re-conduct the exam.

The candidates have been agitating for the last 62 days, demanding a fair examination process.

Khan, along with the protesting candidates, marched towards Gardanibagh Dharna Sthal, carrying what he claims to be crucial evidence of irregularities.

He stated that the evidence he possesses would compel the Patna High Court to order a re-examination.

The demand for a re-exam is also under judicial scrutiny.

The first hearing was held on January 16, when the High Court directed BPSC to submit an affidavit before January 31.

However, despite multiple listings, the case has not been heard again until now, and a hearing is expected on Monday.

Various petitions, including those filed by Jan Suraaj (Prashant Kishor's party), Purnea MP Pappu Yadav, and Khan have been combined in court, all demanding a re-exam and the withdrawal of FIRs against protesting candidates.

Khan has alleged major flaws in the exam process, stating: 'The exam was held on December 13 with three different question paper sets. One set was used for the examination and remaining two sets were supposed to be stored in the treasury after the exam. However, information from Nawada and Gaya treasuries revealed that unused two sets of question paper were not deposited. After irregularities at the Bapu Examination Complex, nearly 12,000 students had to take a re-exam on January 4. Shockingly, instead of preparing new question sets, BPSC reused the same missing papers from Nawada and Gaya,' Khan claimed.

'This led to an unusual disparity in results as only 6 per cent of the candidates cleared the December 13 exam, whereas 19 per cent cleared the January 4 re-exam,' Khan said.

Khan strongly believes that these discrepancies are enough to prove the rigging in court and secure a re-examination order.

As the protest gains momentum and the court hearing approaches, all eyes are on the Patna High Court's next move regarding the future of the 70th BPSC examination.

/IANS