Jharkhand students protesting alleged JPSC-JSSC exam scams broke through barricades near the state Assembly in Ranchi
Jharkhand witnessed high tension in Ranchi on August 10 as thousands of students protesting against alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment exams broke through police barricades and reached close to the state Assembly gate.
Police tried to push the crowd back but eventually used lathi-charge, water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse them.
The protest, now in its 17th day, is being led by student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who is among six students on hunger strike. Mahto and other fasting students joined Sunday’s march on stretchers, arriving in ambulances to take part in the gherao attempt.
Students gathered near the Old Assembly around 10 am and marched toward the current Assembly building, where police had already put up barbed-wire barricading. As water cannons were turned on the crowd, some students climbed onto the barricades and danced in defiance; others sang the national anthem.
Police then fired tear gas shells and carried out at least two rounds of lathi-charge through the day. Several students suffered head injuries, and protesters also threw water bottles and slippers at police personnel.
Student leader Ravindra Paswan said the state government was not serious about their demands and accused it of lacking any real intent to resolve the issue. He said the movement had now grown into a wider public campaign and that students planned to seek a direct meeting with the Chief Minister.
A protesting student alleged that no woman police personnel were present during the crackdown and criticised the state for running welfare schemes for women while allegedly mistreating female protesters.
Political reactions pour in
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, posted on X calling the use of force against protesting students wrong, and said dialogue, not force, was the only way forward, urging the Jharkhand government to act on their demands immediately.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh backed the student leaders, saying the protest was being carried out in a disciplined, democratic manner, and claimed elements trying to incite chaos had been exposed. Union Minister of State Sanjay Seth also criticised the state government’s handling of the protest, calling the crackdown regrettable and urging the government to meet the students’ demands.
Leader of Opposition in the state, Babulal Marandi, alleged that the arrest of former JPSC chairman L. Khiangte was merely symbolic, and claimed the state government would eventually secure him default bail without filing a chargesheet, similar to past cases.
Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari defended the police response, saying the government acted with restraint despite barricades being broken, and maintained that force was largely limited to water cannons. He added that 95 percent of student demands had already been accepted, with the current sticking point being a CBI probe into the JSSC-CGL exam, whose results, he said, were released in line with Supreme Court directions.
What students are demanding
Protesters have been demanding cancellation of the JPSC-JSSC exams over alleged large-scale irregularities, along with a CBI investigation into the CGL, JSSC Assistant Acharya, Excise Constable and PGT recruitment exams, which they allege involved job sales through rigged results.
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