The students threw stones at policemen and broke down barricades.
Thousands of students protesting in Bihar today against the Nitish Kumar government's educational policies clashed with the police, who fired in the air to control the crowd.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which is the BJP's student wing, had organized a march to the state assembly in Patna. The protest turned violent when students broke open the gates of the assembly and tried to storm the complex.
The students threw stones at policemen and broke down barricades. A police booth was smashed and students were seen beating some policemen. Several food carts were overturned, and motorcycles and cars were also damaged.
The police used batons, water cannons and tear gas to disperse the students. When it failed to control the crowd of more than 10,000, a senior police officer fired several rounds in the air from an automatic rifle.
Several students were detained by the police.
The protest was organized to highlight what the student activists say is a "breakdown of the education system" in the state. The students say graduates from Bihar's universities aren't getting jobs.