Job Aspirants Reach Jharkhand Assembly, Police Use Lathi Charge To Disperse Protesters

Ranchi: A large number of job aspirants reached the Jharkhand assembly premises in Ranchi despite police taking tough measures, including using water cannons, lobbing tear gas shells, baton charging them, and putting up barbed-wire barricades to stop them.

The house was adjourned for the day as the agitators closed in on the House, reaching gate number one. Protesters carrying national flags also sat on dharna outside the assembly gate and insisted they would not leave until the government conceded their demands. Protesters demanded a CBI probe into the alleged JSSC-CGL exam irregularities and the complete cancellation of disputed examinations handled by blacklisted agencies. Later, police resorted to a lathi charge—the second one during the assembly march protest—to vacate the area, leaving some students including girls with minor injuries. A protesting girl screamed, “There is not a single woman in their administration, yet they are brutally assaulting people and behaving like government stooges. The Jharkhand government speaks of the ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’, but its machinery is busy assaulting mothers and sisters on the streets. Such officials should wear black uniforms as a symbol of their shameful conduct.”

Another protester told police not to stop beating him, telling chief minister Hemant Soren that he gave them a good gift on his birthday.

Police also erected barricades, including barbed-wire ones at multiple places to stop students from reaching the assembly. The clash turned violent when protesters breached multiple barricades and reached the final security perimeter near the Jagannathpur Temple, roughly 200 meters from the Assembly.

Several protesters claimed they were injured in the police action that occurred when they reached the final barricade near Jagannathpur Temple on the road to the assembly. A protester said, "My head and legs are hurting, and my head is bleeding." However, protesters allegedly became agitated after police lobbed tear gas shells; some also displayed baton marks on their backs and limbs. Many local protesters avoided taking high security and barbed-wire barricades blocked main paths and instead took alternate and back routes to push close to the assembly complex.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, found fault with the Jharkhand government for using force against protesters. He wrote on ‘X’, “The use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand is wrong. Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions. The Jharkhand government must continue to hear these students out and resolve their issues immediately." Congress is an ally in Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren-led Mahagathbandhan government. BJP backed the student protest and also lashed out at the opposition for 'double standards'

Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) and JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, said they want cancellation of JSSC-CGL and all exams connected to the TSR Data Processing Private Limited Agency, a blacklisted entity.

Meanwhile, JKLM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike for nine days protesting exam irregularities, also joined the march, despite losing 10.5 kg. He was seen carrying a portrait of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren in one hand and the national flag in the other. He joined the protesters by arriving in an ambulance. He warned the government that the agitation would intensify and could have political consequences if their demands were not conceded.

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Jharkhand government on Sunday agreed to cancel the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) preliminary examination and the JPSC backlog examinations held in 2023 and 2025 following six hours of discussions with protesting student groups. However, students remained firm on their demand for a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the JSSC-CGL examination and said the agitation would continue.

The protest also gained further political traction earlier in the day when former chief minister and BJP leader Babulal Marandi and state BJP president Aditya Sahu were detained during a sit-in outside chief minister Hemant Soren’s residence. They were seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations. Amid stir over exam irregularities, JPSC’s three serving members -Dr Ajita Bhattacharya, Dr Anima Hansda and Dr Jamal Ahmed -resigned on Sunday. Jharkhand CID interrogated Ajita Bhattacharya at its office in Ranchi.