RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav speaks to the media during the march. "The government is pushing the future of students into darkness. Exam papers are getting leaked frequently," he alleged, while being put inside a police van

RJD leaders and workers, led by Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, took out the protest march to the Lok Bhavan from the JP Golambar in Patna earlier in the day

The police also used water cannons on the protesting RJD leaders, including Yadav, who tried to breach barricades set up along the march route

He further said the protesters were carrying out a peaceful march while holding the Tricolour

The march comes amid a controversy over the use of an AK-47 rifle during a student protest in Siwan. The Bihar government told the Supreme Court that a police constable had fired four rounds from an AK-47 into the air after being trapped in a crowd, while maintaining that no protester was injured by the firing. The constable has been suspended

The RJD National Working President alleged that the police action was being carried out on the instructions of Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary

He said the government's attempts to stop the demonstration would not weaken the movement, arguing that people had come onto the streets to voice their concerns

The RJD's mobilisation comes amid a separate protest by students in Patna over the BPSC TRE-4 recruitment examination. Although the examination advertisement has been released, candidates are opposing the introduction of negative marking in both the preliminary and main examinations and are demanding that the provision be withdrawn.