Khan sir vs Raushan sir: Inside Bihar’s heated coaching centres war

The Bihar coaching centres war has grabbed national attention. The rift between “Khan sir” and Raushan Anand has resulted in police action, with the latter under arrest and the former granted interim protection from arrest.

The rivalry between the two educators is years old. The latest escalation began in the first week of June, with the controversy refusing to die down even now.

We take a look.

What happened?

A Patna court on Tuesday (June 9) granted interim protection from arrest to educator and YouTuber Faisal Khan, popularly known as ‘Khan sir’, in connection with the firing episode at his coaching institute earlier this month.

The district court was hearing an anticipatory bail plea in an attempted murder case filed against Khan. It ruled that “no coercive action”, including arrest, should be taken against the educator until its next order or hearing, reported Indian Express.

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The case pertains to the firing incident on the night of June 2, when around 20 people vandalised Faisal Khan’s coaching institute, Khan Global Studies (KGS), in Patna, pelted stones and attacked a security guard.

Following the incident, Khan’s two bodyguards fired in the air, allegedly on the instructions of the educator, who told them that he would handle “whatever happens”. A video of the security guards firing in the air on the night of the attack on Khan’s coaching institute at Musallahpur Hat area had surfaced online.

Students gather at the campus of Khan Global Studies (KGS) coaching institute after an FIR was allegedly registered against educator Faisal Khan and two others in connection with a firing and vandalism incident, in Patna, Bihar. PTI

The Bihar Police later arrested the bodyguards and seized the weapons allegedly used in the firing.

An FIR was registered at Kadamkuan police station on June 4, naming Khan, his two security guards and others under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to attempted murder, as well as sections of the Arms Act.

Khan is reportedly planning to approach the Patna High Court and is likely to file a petition seeking the quashing of the FIR against him.

The Patna court had earlier reserved its order on the bail plea of Raushan Anand, director of Gyan Bindu Coaching Institute, who was arrested over the attack on Khan’s centre.

However, members of Gyan Bindu Coaching Centre have claimed Khan orchestrated the attack on his centre. Students backing Raushan staged a protest in Bihar's capital against his arrest last week. Many also demanded action against Khan.

Khan sir vs Raushan Anand

The enmity between ‘Khan sir’ and Raushan Anand has been brewing for years. Khan is popular among government job aspirants, while Raushan has also built a substantial student base through his online videos for competitive exam preparation.

Khan Global Studies and Gyan Bindu Coaching have been operating from 'Kisan Cold Storage', which functions as a campus, in Patna’s Musallahpur since 2017.

The popular site is used to run coaching institutes in the area covering Bazar Samiti, Mahendru, and Musallahpur Haat, as per an NDTV report.

Known as a coaching hub, Kisan Cold Storage was home to 20 coaching centres until 2018-19. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic struck, several coaching centres shut their doors permanently. Khan, who had gained popularity by then, expanded his operations. He built buildings on the campus and rented out halls and offices of coaching centres that had closed down.

Most of the classrooms and halls at Kisan Cold Storage are now under the control of Khan Global Studies. There are only six coaching centres left on the campus.

Adarsh, a teacher at Gyan Bindu Coaching, told NDTV that Khan wants complete control over the campus.

Violence has often defined the rivalry between Khan and Raushan. In 2019, multiple crude bombs were hurled at Khan’s coaching centre, with the educator blaming his rival for the attack.

Khan accused Raushan Anand, his brother Prince and others of storming his classroom, vandalism and violence in March 2021.

In 2023, Gyan Bindu Coaching Centre was attacked, with miscreants vandalising everything from display screens to office furniture. Raushan’s brother was also targeted and injured in the head, leading to eight stitches, as per NDTV.

At the time, Raushan claimed attackers were from Patel Hostel, who were provided hockey sticks and clubs from Khan’s office.

Khan has also accused Raushan of instigating assaults on his staff through students from other hostels.

But why are they fighting?

The turf war between Khan and Raushan over students, campus space, and credit-claiming has reached its peak.

According to NDTV, the root cause of the latest flare-up between the two educators lies in the results of the Bihar Police recruitment examination. Both Khan Global Studies and Gyan Bindu Coaching claimed credit for the success of a large number of candidates — one claiming 12,000 and the other 10,000.

The associates from both institutes tore down posters of the other, which ended up in physical fights.

Every year, after the Bihar Police sub-inspector exam results are declared, credit claiming begins over the toppers and the number of successful candidates.

In February, the results for 24 forest range officer posts were announced, with Abhishek Kumar alias Abhishek Patel emerging as the topper.

Soon after the results came out, both rival coaching centres claimed Abhishek as their student, even producing records as evidence.

On March 28, Abhishek visited Khan's coaching centre for felicitation, which enraged Raushan Anand. He then made his purported WhatsApp chats with Abhishek public, where the student had discussed the course with him. Raushan also Khan of "buying" the topper for Rs 10 lakh.

Abhishek Patel has rejected these claims.

With inputs from agencies