Patna: Several job aspirants were detained on Saturday after a scuffle with police during a march to Lok Bhavan in Patna to press for a transparent recruitment process, officials said.

A large number of job aspirants participated in the march, which was stopped near R-Golumber where barricades were put up, they said.

A scuffle broke out as the protesters tried to breach the barricades, following which the security personnel used “mild force” to disperse them. Many protesters were subsequently detained, they added.

City SP (Central) Mamta Kalyani said, “Adequate forces have been deployed to handle any situation.” The protesters are demanding adherence to UGC rules in the appointment of professors, an increase in the maximum age limit, a single-tier examination for BPSC TRE-4 and a level playing field for Hindi-medium candidates, among others.

Guest faculty members of universities in Bihar and PhD holders have been protesting for over a fortnight, seeking implementation of UGC Regulation 2018 in the appointment of assistant professors, raising the maximum age limit for applicants to 55 years, regularisation of assistant professor appointments and implementation of a domicile policy.

One group of protesters warned that they would gherao the Bihar chief minister’s official residence on August 25 if the government failed to hold a meaningful dialogue with them by August 24.

Protesters seeking changes in the BPSC TRE-4 recruitment process also threatened to call a Bihar bandh if their demands were not considered by the government.