Jharkhand Police use water cannons on student protesters in Ranchi

Jharkhand Police on Monday used water cannons against student protesters attempting to break through the barricading during the Vidhan Sabha Gherao march against alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examinations.

A large number of student protesters gathered near the Vidhan Sabha in Ranchi during the march led by JPSC-JSSC Reform Morcha against the alleged irregularities in the examinations and recruitment process.

Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto also joined the JPSC-JSCC Reform Morcha's 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march against the alleged exam irregularities and said that the state government "will have to listen to the students' demands."

 

Carrying former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren's portrait, student leader Mahto said, "Despite being on hunger strike, the barbed wires will not be able to stop us. I came here in an ambulance. The government will have to listen to us."

Asking the public not to make him a hero, he added, "I am no God or messiah; I am a common man. There will be no change in my personal life. But the barbed wires hurt more than the hunger strike. Students crossed three layers of barricading. Why does the government want anarchy and not agree to students' demands?"

Further, he urged CM Hemant Soren not to take police action against protesters.

"Today it's CM Hemant Soren's birthday, and he should not take such a step where some unfortunate events like at the Jantar Mantar take place here. Do not do anything that causes someone to bleed or get injured and makes the crowd even more agitated. Arrest is a legal process, but there should be no bloodshed. If the government does not agree to the demands, it will be remembered as the one which killed democracy. I will not end the fast," he said.

Mahto has been on a hunger strike at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the main protest site, for the past nine days.

While the protesters have demanded a CBI probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the JPSC.