The Public Service Commission (PSC) has suspended the viva voce for 44th BCS candidates who were awaiting to take the oral exam after the 46th BCS written exam.
This announcement was made through a notice sent by the Information Directorate on Thursday. The viva will be conducted at a later, more convenient time, according to the notice.
The notice said that candidates who are set to participate in the written exam of the 46th BCS and are waiting for the viva of the 44th BCS will have their interviews postponed until further notice.
However, rejecting this announcement, Dr Siam, the coordinator for the candidates of the 44th, 45th, and 46th BCS and the protesting candidates, told Dhaka Tribune: "This directive is impossible to accept. After completing one batch's entire examination, we have to wait for the next. Otherwise, the candidates will be in a dilemma."
He added: "We will protest if necessary, even if we have to face legal action. But we will not accept this illogical action. They are more concerned with taking credit and solving the session jam of the BCS. And in this, they are trying to make us the scapegoats."
Allegations of arrest of protesting BCS candidates
On the night of Wednesday, after the PSC authorities expressed their inability to delay the exam, a section of the 46th BCS candidates began a peaceful protest in front of the commission's office on Thursday.
They gathered in front of the office around 12pm, but law enforcement and army personnel did not allow them to stand there. A chase ensued between the protesters and the law enforcement agencies, during which they were beaten and three were arrested.
The arrested individuals were handed over to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station by the army, and later transferred to Tejgaon Police Station.
Among the arrested were Dr Siam, Siam, a student from Dhaka University, and Noor, a student from Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
Dr Siam, the coordinator of the protesting candidates, told Dhaka Tribune: "I don't want to make any comments about the PSC at the moment. Whatever notice they issue, we will not comment on it for now."
He added: "I just want to say that we were peacefully protesting in front of the office with a legitimate demand. We are not school or college students. We have all passed some stage of the BCS. But today, what happened to us is shameful."
He also said: "We were peacefully protesting when, for no reason, they beat us and arrested me and two others, taking us to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station. Later, fearing attacks on students in the police station, we were transferred to Tejgaon Police Station."
He further said: "After almost three hours, we were forced to sign an undertaking to be released. The PSC has shown its power, but we will continue our activities from our position. If necessary, we will seek legal recourse."
When contacted, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station denied the incident.
However, the Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) of Tejgaon Police Station Shah Alam confirmed saying: "They were sent here from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station. They were released a short while ago."
Notably, since the publication of the schedules for the 44th, 45th, and 46th BCS exams, the 46th BCS candidates had been requesting the PSC to postpone the written exam.
When no resolution was found, on April 8, the candidates protested in front of the PSC office and eventually entered the gate, where they held a sit-in. The PSC authorities took three days to consider their demands and later, on April 9, expressed their inability to postpone the exam.
