Police beat up around 24 students marching to the Assembly in protest against the government slashing scholarship for Dalits at JP roundabout on Wednesday.

The students had come from the Ambedkar hostels in the state to protest against the government's decision to slash the post-matriculation scholarship for Dalit students from around Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15,000 per annum. Gathered under the Indian Students Welfare Association, the students had left from Mahendru (Patna University) when they were stopped at the roundabout near Gandhi Maidan.

"Ours was peaceful demonstration and we were demanding talks with chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh over the issue. But when we reached JP roundabout, the police not only stopped us from proceeding but caned us also," said Amar Azad, the president of the students' association. "Around a dozen students received injuries in the police lathi-charge and around 30 Dalit students were taken into custody."

SC/ST welfare minister, Santosh Kumar Nirala, said: "The government has decided to slash scholarship amount for SC/ST students but at the same time, students' credit card will be launched on October 2 under which these students will be provided loans."

Rabri Devi has taken cognisance of the incident.