Jharkhand student leader hospitalised as police lathi-charge protesters

The Story in Brief

Devendra Nath Mahto, JLKM leader on a nine-day hunger strike over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment exams, was hospitalised on Monday after his health deteriorated during a protest march to the state Assembly. Doctors at Ranchi Sadar Hospital described his condition as critical due to a drastic drop in blood sugar levels. His aide Pankaj Kumar claimed Mahto was injured in a police lathi-charge near the Assembly. The police used water cannons, tear gas, and batons to disperse thousands of job aspirants who broke through barricades. At least five protesters and four policemen were injured in the clashes.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has called a statewide bandh on Tuesday to protest police action. The BJP demanded a CBI investigation into the exam irregularities, accusing the Hemant Soren government of ignoring student demands. The Jharkhand government said it had accepted 98 per cent of demands, but student leaders rejected this, saying only 3 of 13 exams they sought to cancel had been scrapped. The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case in the JPSC exam probe.