PATNA, Aug. 8 -- Several aspirants of state teacher eligibility test (STET), demanding holding the exam before TRE-4, were injured in police lathi charge at JP roundabout under Gandhi Maidan police station here on Thursday. Many have been hospitalised for treatment, said people in the know. Education minister Sunil Kumar said, "Currently, over 4 lakh candidates are already STET-qualified. When TRE-5 is conducted, we will hold the STET exam beforehand. If we conduct the exam right now, TRE-4 will get delayed. We will soon send the details of vacant seats for TRE-4 to the BPSC." On the other hand, more than 5,000 aspirants from various districts of Bihar assembled in Patna college and marched towards the CM's residence to press their demands to the conduct STET before TRE-4. As their march reached near GP roundabout, the police barricaded the areas and asked the protesters to stop their march. The police tried to pacify them but an altercation broke out between aspirants and police, ending up in lathi charge. The aspirants claimed police lathi charged them without any reason and even female protestors were not spared. Many were injured in the incident and suffered head injuries, said aspirants. Khusboo Pathak, an aspirant, said she was hit by police and pushed to the ground. The protesters ran helter-skelter to save themselves. "The education department is not paying attention to our demands, which is why we were forced to take to the streets. Without conducting STET, not all students will get an opportunity in TRE-4, making it essential to hold the STET," she said. City SP (central) Diksha said the demonstrators had disrupted traffic movement. The protestors also tried to jump the barricades and they refused to vacate the roads. Mild force was used to disperse them. The protest stems from CM Nitish Kumar's recent announcement of TRE-4 and TRE-5 for teacher recruitment, which includes the implementation of a domicile policy. However, students who have not yet cleared TET will miss this opportunity. Hence, they are demanding holding of STET before TRE. The aspirants argue that the Bihar School Examination Board had earlier promised to conduct TET twice a year, but this has not happened so far....