Job-seekers burn trains in India over recruitment

Student associations have called for more protests this week mainly in the eastern state of Bihar, which has been reporting one of the highest jobless rates in the country. India's unemployment is estimated to have exceeded the global rate in five of the last six years.

On Wednesday (January 26), around 1,500 protesters gathered at Gaya Railway Station and vandalized the signalling room and set fire to the empty coaches of a halted train, a police official said.

The violence erupted after test results for different job categories showed that the names of the same people appeared multiple times, which unsuccessful candidates felt wrongly excluded them. Millions of people had applied for some 150,000 jobs in Bihar and neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, they said.

The Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday a committee had been formed to look into the concerns of the candidates. It earlier said those found involved in the vandalism and destruction of public property could be barred from appearing for railways jobs apart from other legal action.

India's railways employs more than 1.2 million people.