n The retest for a select group of candidates who had appeared in the recent Bihar PSC exam, which has been embroiled over allegations of question paper leak, was held on Saturday afternoon at 22 centres here, officials said.

Altogether, 12,000 candidates were scheduled to sit for the re-examination that started at 12 pm and continued till 2 pm, they said. The 70th Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) held on December 13 has been in the eye of a storm over allegations of leak of question papers, which has been denied by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), though a fresh test was ordered for 12,000 candidates, who had appeared for the exam at the Bapu Pariksha Parisar centre here. “The re-exam took place at 22 centres in Patna. Out of a total 12,000 candidates, around 8,200 aspirants had downloaded their admit cards. The authorities concerned will later provide the exact number of students who appeared for the retest,” District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told reporters. “The retest was peacefully held at all the centres, where adequate arrangements were put in place. The district administration had issued strict guidelines. Unauthorised entry, gatherings and protests within a 200-metre radius of the centres were prohibited,” he said after the exam.

The clamour for cancellation of the Combined Competitive Examination held on December 13 by the BPSC has gained strength, as agitating aspirants found support from various political parties, Independent MP Pappu Yadav and Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor.

Yadav had on Friday led his supporters in blocking rail and road traffic in several areas of Patna as well as other parts of the state.

Several MLAs and leaders of the Congress, CPI-ML (Liberation), CPI(M) and CPI also lent support to the protesting candidates, who have been demanding that fresh exams be held for all the five lakh candidates, who had appeared at more than 900 centres across the state, to ensure a “level-playing field”.