Police deployed water cannons in Ranchi on Monday as protesting students breached barricades during a march towards the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. Facing the gushing jets, demonstrators responded by dancing in the water, echoing similar scenes from recent paper leak protests in Patna. Thousands of job aspirants from across various districts converged on the capital by train, bus, and private transport, pressing for extensive reforms in state recruitment examinations after years of disruptions caused by paper leaks.
Despite elaborate security measures, including heavy police deployment, widespread check-posts on district borders, and the closure of most local schools, protesters pushed through major intersections to reach the legislative premises. Student leader Devendra Mahto, who remains on an indefinite hunger strike alongside five others, urged the crowds to avoid confrontations with law enforcement and seek alternative routes in a disciplined manner. The demonstration unfolded alongside political friction in the capital, where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders staged a parallel protest outside the official residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The escalation follows the collapse of six rounds of negotiations between student representatives and a government-appointed panel. While the state executive claimed to have accepted 98 per cent of the demands, student representatives from the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch rejected the assertion, noting that officials had agreed to cancel only three of the 13 contested examinations. Agitators maintain that their demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) recruitment drives remains non-negotiable.
The ongoing agitation has already triggered significant administrative fallout within the state's examination bodies. Three JPSC commission members resigned on Sunday following summonses issued by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) regarding ongoing paper leak inquiries, coming shortly after former chairman L Khiangte stepped down on July 22. Chief Minister Soren reiterated assurances that those responsible for compromising the examination process would face stern action, but the failure to reach a compromise on an independent central probe continues to prolong the confrontation.
Also read: Jharkhand students begin march to Assembly
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