Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Khan Sir, the famous teacher and YouTuber in Patna, urged students not to participate in any kind of protest against the Railway Recruitment Board's (RRB) two-exam policy on Friday, 28 January.
His comments came after the All India Students Association (AISA) and other youth organisations called for a Bharat Bandh on Friday.
In a video message shared by multiple media outlets, Khan Sir said:
"Do not take part in any protest on 28 January. No student from any district will participate in any sort of violence. Your demands have been met. Nothing should happen on 28 January. All teachers all over the country should tell their students not to participate in any protest. No teacher will support any kind of protest or violence."
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Khan Sir on Thursday, 27 January. The Patna Police named the owners of six coaching centres in the FIR, accusing them of instigating students to protest. A passenger train was set on fire, and another was attacked with stones on Wednesday during the protests.
'RRB Responsible for the Whole Issue'
Khan further said that ex-deputy chief minister Sushil Modi had spoken to the Railway minister about the issue.
"He has assured that the result for the Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) will be 20 times the number of vacancies as promised, that is, 3.5 lakh aspirants will be added. The CBT-2 (Computer Based Test) exam, which was added suddenly, has also been suspended," he said.
He also said the RRB was responsible for the whole issue.
"PM Modi, Railway minister, are not at fault, but RRB is responsible. The decision to form a committee is not keeping the UP elections in mind."
He added that the Prime Minister's Office has set a deadline to meet the demands, which RRB has to comply with.
"If you hold protests tomorrow, it will be harmful to you as some other elements will come and indulge in violence. The trains that were burnt in Arrah and Gaya, can a student say someone else didn't do this act making them a front? Whenever I put forward your demands in the ministry, how can I justify violence? All your demands have been met, do not hold bandh."
He also said that he would inform students if he was arrested in connection with the FIR filed against him, students, and other coaching centres, over vandalism.
More About the FIR
The charges in the FIR against the students and the owners include section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and others relating to rioting and assaulting officials.
None of the tutors have been arrested so far.
The tutors have denied the allegations, stating that the protests were spontaneous as several students who were expecting to qualify in the recruitment drive for the NTPC failed to get through.
According to the FIR, four of the arrested students told the police that they had watched a video of Khan Sir on social media in which he had said that "if RRB (Railway Recruitment Board) results were not revised, they (coaching centres) would get students to protest."
The FIR further said that several students' statements on social media suggested that coaching centres were upset "at not getting the desired results for their students in RRB NTPC results."
Khan Sir, who is from Gorakhpur and runs the GS Research Centre in the Old Patna area, denied the charges on Thursday. Khan Sir held the RRB responsible for the unrest.
"The biggest mistake is of the RRB," he stressed. "There was a ruckus at Patna Rajinder Nagar terminal, where the RRB should have come, but everyone except them reached there, including the collector, Bihar Police, SSP, among other officers. This is despite the fact that the RRB office is at a distance of two kilometres," he added.
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