The Jharkhand students’ march towards the state Assembly intensified on Monday after protesters breached eight police barricades, prompting security forces to use water cannons.
Thousands of JPSC-JSSC aspirants from 24 districts marched towards the New Assembly building over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission.
Despite the water jets, many protesters stood firm, raised slogans and even danced at the protest site.
Police eventually stopped them from advancing further, leading to a tense standoff.
Authorities tightened security around the Assembly and Chief Minister’s residence and deployed drones to monitor the crowd.
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on hunger strike, joined the march despite his deteriorating health. He said protecting students’ futures remained more important than his condition and vowed to continue the hunger strike until the government addressed their concerns.
Protester Chandan Kumar said student representatives had held talks with Ministers for two days. He claimed the government had accepted around 80 per cent of their demands, but key issues remained unresolved.
Students sought the cancellation of disputed examinations, including the 14th JPSC preliminary examination and JSSC-CGL examination, recruitment reforms, action on pending backlogs and a CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities.
Talks failed to resolve the dispute, prompting the Assembly march. Police detained protesting BJP leaders, while Champai Soren criticised the barricades.
The government claimed it had accepted most demands, but students continued their protest and hunger strike over unresolved examination issues.
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