Kisan Cold Storage Lane – a well-known address in Musallapur, the coaching hub of Patna – looks much as it always does. The narrow lane houses the offices and classrooms of two of the city’s best-known coaching institutes, both currently in the headlines.

Young aspirants, chasing the dream of a government job, stream in and out as ever, crowding the help desks and jostling shoulder to shoulder for information on course fees, class timings and batch numbers. High above the mouth of the lane hang the two institutes’ signboards. At the top is Khan Global Studies, owned by Faisal Khan, better known as Khan Sir. Just below sits Gyan Bindu GS Academy, owned by Roshan Anand, who belongs to the Yadav community.

Look a little closer, though, and the signboards tell another story: several are smashed. 

A week ago, this lane was the scene of a violent battle for dominance between the two institutes – a night of vandalism, gunfire and arrests. The rivalry that erupted here on June 2 has since placed one of India’s most-followed YouTube teachers under police investigation, sent the rival institute’s owner to jail, and turned a local turf war into national news. At its heart lies a peculiar contest: over which institute can claim the most students cracking the state’s government-job exams.

‘Competition exists but this is the first time…’

On the right side of the lane is the front office of Khan Global Studies, where three or four staff members field a steady stream of queries. A short walk away is the office of Gyan Bindu GS Academy, where staff brief newcomers on courses, fees and other details.

Inside the institute’s largest classroom – the one where Khan Sir himself used to teach – another teacher now works through a lesson on a smart board. A flustered young woman asks a Khan Global Studies staffer which room her class is in. Two white cars, belonging to two of the institute’s teachers, are parked in the portico.

An 18-year-old from Sasaram, who had bought Khan Sir’s online course, stands disappointed. He had come hoping to meet his teacher in person. “I came to Patna for an exam, and afterwards, I headed here hoping to meet Khan Sir, but he hasn’t even come to the coaching center today,” he told Newslaundry, filming the classroom on his phone.

A staffer at Khan Global Studies’ front desk said: “Classes are continuing just as before; it is only Khan Sir who hasn’t been coming in for the past 5-6 days.”

Both institutes are trying to keep classes running. Sundar Kumar, a Gyan Bindu staffer who is himself preparing for a government job, says, “We are running three centres and at every centre at least 10 classes are taken. All classes are running as usual and new aspirants are also coming for admission.”

“Competition exists among coaching institutes, but this is the first time I have witnessed such a violent clash and arrests,” says Matiur Rahman Khan – widely known as Guru Rahman – a middle-aged teacher who has run a coaching centre in Musallapur for nearly 24 years.

The result that sparked a conflict

Last year, the Central Selection Board of Constable Recruitment (CSBC), Bihar, advertised 19,383 constable posts in the Bihar........

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