New Delhi: Hundreds of aspirants headed for recruitment examinations blocked railway tracks and pelted stones at Pataliputra station on the outskirts of Patna in Bihar late Saturday (June 13) night over alleged shortage of trains. To restore order, the police resorted to fire tear gas and lathi-charge.In videos on social media, aspirants can be seen on the station’s platforms, descending onto the train tracks and shouting slogans and facing off with policemen. Security personnel and railway officials sustained injuries during the violence. Six individuals have been arrested so far.“There were 250 students and they were preventing the train from moving. The police tried to reason with them, but they refused to comply and threw stones. Action will be taken against those who threw stones,” Patna Inspector General Jitendra Rana was quoted as saying by NDTV. Rana also sustained minor injuries.The candidates were travelling to appear for excise department examinations scheduled for Sunday (June 14), conducted across Bihar.“More than 200 young men, posing as students appearing for competitive exams” turned up at Pataliputra station without warning, Amresh Kumar, inspector general (IG) in-charge of the Railway Protection Force for East Central Zone told PTI, adding that the situation turned volatile close to midnight.The IG said that trains had been running throughout the day to transport candidates across the state. However, the demonstrators were not satisfied.“The troublemakers alleged that arrangements were inadequate and squatted on the tracks, demanding a special train that could help them reach their destination in time,” Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.A statement from SP Railway, Patna’s office confirmed that “eight rounds were also fired in the air” to disburse the mob. Security staff and officials were hurt in the stone pelting incident, however, no passengers were reported injured and railway property was also not damaged, as per the statement.By around 2 am, a special train was arranged and dispatched.“It appears that many of the young men at the station were anti-social elements who actually wanted to foment trouble so that the exams would get cancelled. Their antics affected traffic at the station where two passenger and a goods train remained stranded for hours. Other trains which had to pass through Pataliputra station were run on alternative routes till normalcy was restored,” Kumar said.He added that CCTV footage from the station would be shared with Patna Police to help identify those responsible for the vandalism.Speaking to reporters, Patna Zone IG Jitendra Rana said an FIR would be filed in connection with the incident, and that those identified through surveillance footage would face legal consequences.