New Delhi, June 14 -- Railway services on the outskirts of Patna were disrupted after a large group of youths gathered on the tracks late Saturday night, prompting police to resort to tear gas and a lathi-charge to restore order, a senior official said on Sunday.

According to Amresh Kumar, Inspector General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for the East Central Zone, which covers a substantial part of Bihar, the unrest began around midnight at Pataliputra railway station. More than 200 young men, claiming to be candidates appearing for a competitive examination, assembled at the station and protested over the alleged shortage of trains.

"Trains had been ferrying students to various parts of the state for the exams of the Excise Depa...