A Bhopal teacher recruitment protest turned tense on Thursday after police detained selected Grade-3 teacher candidates who blocked roads at Board Office Square while demanding appointment letters and joining dates. The candidates alleged rough treatment during the removal operation, while police denied excess and said they acted to restore traffic movement.
The aspirants had been holding a sit-in at the busy square since October 5. On Thursday afternoon, they moved onto the road and sat across both sides, severely disrupting traffic. Some protesters reportedly banged steel plates and lay on the road as police attempted to clear the blockade.
After they were removed, the candidates alleged that police personnel assaulted them and dragged women protesters. Police rejected the allegations, saying the protesters had no permission to obstruct a public road and that the action was limited to clearing the road and taking demonstrators into custody.
Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said the police had not engaged in any form of excess. “The protesters had blocked the road, causing inconvenience to the general public; therefore, they were merely taken into custody,” he said. According to the commissioner, those detained were released after signing a personal bond. He added that a case would be registered against them for intentionally blocking the road.
Several aspirants reportedly began singing the national anthem as they were detained. The candidates are merit-listed participants in the Primary Teacher Grade-3 recruitment process and say they have repeatedly sought meetings with officials, but the appointment process has not progressed despite their 26-day agitation.
Their immediate demands are the release of appointment letters and the announcement of joining dates. The candidates said School Education Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh had earlier assured them that appointments would be issued by October 16. With that deadline passing without action, they said they intensified the protest by blocking the road.
The dispute has now extended beyond a recruitment delay to the management of a prolonged public demonstration at a major traffic point. The police have indicated that any further attempt to block the road without permission could invite action, while the aspirants have said they will continue their agitation until the appointment process begins.
The School Education Department had not responded to repeated calls by the time of reporting, and officials had not announced a fresh timeline for issuing appointment letters. The next official step remains the department’s decision on the appointments and joining schedule, alongside the police case indicated against the protesters.
