New Delhi: Scores of UPSC aspirants today staged protests in several areas in central and north Delhi area causing traffic disruptions and forcing authorities to shut metro stations for several hours.
The protests began early morning in north Delhi's Civil Lines area with students demanding scrapping of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), and as they wanted to reach the Prime Minister's residence at Race Course road, police asked Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to shut down four metro stations in New Delhi district.
“Entry and exit from four metro stations - Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Race Course and Udyog Bhavan - were shut at 11:18 AM. However, they were opened at 1:15 PM,” Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) SBS Tyagi said.
Given the large number of protestors, police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the New Delhi district where additional forces from South and South-East districts were also called in.
Meanwhile, the agitators who were around 1500 in number marched to Rajghat and then came to Parliament Street, where they had a brief altercation with police and later seemed to disperse.
However, they started to reach Race Course following which the Race Course metro station was shut around 5 PM.
“Around 1000 to 1,200 protesters were still present there and that was why we advised Delhi Metro to close Race Course Metro station at 5 PM indefinitely,” said Tyagi.
UPSC aspirants had staged a protest last week outside the residence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding a four-year age relaxation for appearing in the examinations of these services and scrapping of CSAT.
