Now Reading: Jharkhand police defend lathicharge, BJP calls bandh
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Jharkhand police defend lathicharge, BJP calls bandh
Police in Ranchi used water cannons, tear gas, and lathicharge on August 10 to disperse thousands of students marching towards the Jharkhand Assembly on the 17th day of their protest against alleged…
The Story in Brief
Police in Ranchi used water cannons, tear gas, and lathicharge on August 10 to disperse thousands of students marching towards the Jharkhand Assembly on the 17th day of their protest against alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment exams. Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan said police will scan CCTV footage to identify miscreants, and used only mild force after protesters refused to clear the route and pelted stones. Students accused police of beating over 100 young men without warning. The BJP announced a statewide bandh on August 11, condemning the crackdown.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren thanked police for handling the situation with sensitivity while also assuring students that their demands would be addressed. Student leaders from JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch and JLKM led the march, demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL exam and a CBI probe. Some protesters compared the barricades to those at the Pakistan border, asking if they were being treated as terrorists. The protest comes amid longstanding frustration over exam cancellations and paper leaks in the state.
The Indian Opinion
Two narratives are running in parallel: the government sees a peaceful protest hijacked by stone-pelters, while students see an unprovoked crackdown on legitimate anger. Both sides have some truth. Twenty-six years of exam irregularities justify deep frustration, but a march that blocks traffic and defies police warnings cannot be purely peaceful. The key test now is the CCTV footage: will it show a few troublemakers or widespread violence that warranted water cannons and batons? And will the government finally order a time-bound CBI investigation, or let this cycle repeat?
Sources (3): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, thehindu.com, thehindu.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
