Pune police have ordered Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants to vacate the SM Joshi Bridge area, saying their eight-day sit-in is obstructing traffic and affecting the daily lives of citizens, while offering an alternative protest venue behind the district collectorate.
The police order said protesters had received written and oral instructions that the agitation was unauthorised, but continued to remain at the site. It also cited the possibility of a law-and-order issue arising from the continued gathering and asked the students to seek permission for another location.
The action followed a Bombay high court direction issued a day earlier that protests should not obstruct public roads, bridges and other public spaces or affect traffic. The court also observed that the protesting students could not be treated as antisocial elements and stressed the need for a fair recruitment process.
Police said permission for the proposed agitation had earlier been cancelled after students communicated that their protest would be suspended following a September 30 meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to the police order, students gathered at SM Joshi Bridge near Patrakar Bhavan on October 1 without obtaining fresh permission and began the sit-in.
The police have said permission may be sought for a designated protest site behind the district collectorate. Requests for time-bound agitation at other alternative locations would also be considered, according to the order. Notices have been issued to 51 students and 29 private coaching classes and study centre operators in connection with the protest.
The students remained at the site on Thursday despite the direction. Six protesters have been on hunger strike, and their health has deteriorated after several days of fasting. Doctors continued health checks at the protest location.
The dispute now places two public concerns in direct administrative conflict: the students’ demand for a permitted space to continue a democratic protest and the city’s need to keep a key bridge and surrounding roads open to traffic. The police action also shifts the immediate question from whether the agitation can continue to where and under what conditions it can legally be held.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said the next course of action would be decided after discussions with government representatives. He said two government representatives were expected to meet the students on Thursday evening and convey the government’s position before the protesters decided their next steps.
Maharashtra Youth Congress president Shivraj More, who is among those on hunger strike, said the government should speak with the students instead of applying police pressure. Protester Nitin Gite said the repeated notices had not weakened their commitment to the demands.
The agitation has received support from opposition leaders and concerns examination transparency, recruitment, accountability and the resignation of MPSC chairperson Vivek Bhimanwar. Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam also continued to support the protesters, saying aspirants from urban and rural parts of Maharashtra invest years preparing for competitive examinations and require timely action rather than assurances.
The students must now decide whether to shift to an alternative venue, seek time-bound permission elsewhere or continue at SM Joshi Bridge despite the police order. Further action is expected after the proposed meeting with government representatives.
