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The National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) today directed the concerned authorities to take appropriate action within 8 weeks in a complaint filed against Police crackdown on students protesting against ‘anomalies’ in Railway recruitment exams in Prayagraj last month.

The direction has come in a complaint filed by one Gajendra Singh Yadav, who had claimed that Uttar Pradesh police had abused power while taking unwarranted steps against peacefully protesting students at Bhagada, Prayagraj, hence, had violated their human rights. In his complaint, Yadav had stated,

"There (was) peaceful agitation by the students regarding railways entrance exam and UP police took harsh and unreasonable step against those students as well as other students. Police started beating, dragging them, breaking their doors, in order to beat (them). Students were beaten by the lower part of guns "butt". the Police (had) declar(ed) them as terrorists," the complaint read.

"Students suffered physical as well as mental harm by this unwarranted act of up police," Yadav had further asserted.

Therefore, taking note of the issues raised by Yadav, the NHRC issued the directions and disposed of the plea. NHRC ordered, 

"This complaint be transmitted to the concerned authority for such action as deemed appropriate. The authority concerned is directed to take appropriate action within 8 weeks associating the complainant/victim and to inform him/her of the action taken in the matter."

The protest

Opposing a decision by the Railways to hold the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) exam 2021 in two stages, thousands of students had staged massive protests in the month of January this year. 

The protesting students were claiming that there was only one examination mentioned in the RRB notification issued in 2019 and the second stage which was notified later on added was unfair to those who have cleared the first stage, results for which were released on January 15, 2022.

At some places, students had become allegedly violent and therefore, the state police had taken actions to curb their activities.