Thousands of young jobseekers in India have burned down empty train coaches and blocked rail traffic this week in protest against what they call irregularities in recruitment by the railways department, one of the world's largest employers, reports AsiaOne. Student associations have called for more protests this week mainly in the eastern state of Bihar, which has been reporting one of the highest jobless rates in the country. India's unemployment is estimated to have exceeded the global rate in five of the last six years.

The protests began on Monday after test results for different job categories showed that the names of the same people appeared multiple times, which unsuccessful candidates felt wrongly excluded them. Millions of people had applied for approximately 150,000 jobs in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state, they said. The Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday a committee had been formed to look into the concerns of the candidates. It earlier said those found involved in the vandalism and destruction of public property could be barred from applying for railways jobs in addition to other legal action. India's railways employ more than 1.2 million people.