Now Reading: Jharkhand police lathi-charge students marching to assembly
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Jharkhand police lathi-charge students marching to assembly
Thousands of job aspirants protesting alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations breached multiple barricades and marched towards the Jharkhand assembly in Ranchi on Monday. Police used water cannons, tear gas,…
The Story in Brief
Thousands of job aspirants protesting alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations breached multiple barricades and marched towards the Jharkhand assembly in Ranchi on Monday. Police used water cannons, tear gas, and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Several protesters were injured, and a Jharkhand Armed Police personnel was also hurt, officials said.
The protest coincided with Chief Minister Hemant Soren's 51st birthday. The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case, and the Jharkhand CID arrested former JPSC chairperson L Khiangte. The students, led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto who has been on a nine-day hunger strike, are demanding a CBI probe and cancellation of several exams. The government says it has accepted 98% of demands, which the protesters deny.
The Indian Opinion
The images of students being water-cannoned and lathi-charged on the chief minister's birthday are unflattering for any government, but the narrative that the state is crushing a peaceful movement needs examination. Barricades were repeatedly breached, and organisers had to deploy volunteers to prevent anti-social elements from joining the march. A protest is legitimate, but breaching barricades is not constitutionally sanctioned. The government claims it accepted 98% of demands, the protesters say the concession was only on three of 13 exams. The test now is not who shouts loudest, but whether independent agencies will be allowed to probe and whether a full details of all exam cancellations sought can be published quickly.
Sources (7): livemint.com, ndtvprofit.com, hindustantimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2), thehindu.com, news.abplive.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 7 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 7 sources.
