Jharkhand Police Resort to Lathi Charge During 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' March Against Exam Irregularities

Ranchi: Jharkhand Police on Monday resorted to a lathi charge to control the crowd during the 'Vidhan Sabha gherao' march against alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examinations.

Police had also used water cannons against the protesters in Ranchi. Vikram Kumar, a student protester injured in a lathi charge, said, "Hemant Soren ji, you should not have done this. We were protesting peacefully. We did not even hurl any abuses. Suddenly, the police launched a lathi charge. This is not good."

A large number of student protesters gathered near the Vidhan Sabha in Ranchi during the march led by JPSC-JSSC Reform Morcha against the alleged irregularities in the examinations and recruitment process.

Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto also joined the 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march and said that the state government "will have to listen to the students' demands."

Carrying former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren's portrait, student leader Mahto said, "Despite being on hunger strike, the barbed wires will not be able to stop us. I came here in an ambulance. The government will have to listen to us."

Mahto has been on a hunger strike at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the main protest site, for the past nine days.

JLKM MLA Jairam Kumar Mahato said that the protest is fundamentally driven by students seeking accountability. He added that the agitation will come to a rest once the demands are fulfilled.

"Fundamentally, they are students. As for the opposition parties, indirect support will always be there; that happens with every government. But fundamentally, they are students; it's their agitation, and once their demands are met, they won't agitate anymore," he said.

He added, "I am going there (to the 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march), I will come back and tell you what the matter is."

The protesting JPSC-JSSC aspirants have maintained that their key demands, including cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, CBI investigation into alleged irregularities, and reforms to the recruitment process, have not been fully accepted by the state government.

Amid the demand for a CBI probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the JPSC. (With ANI Inputs)