Police on Monday used water cannons, tear gas and resorted to a lathi charge as thousands of students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations marched towards the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi. The protesters attempted to breach multiple layers of barricades as they advanced towards the Assembly.At least three people, including two protesters and a Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) personnel, were injured during the confrontation, according to officials. The protesters were taking part in the ‘Vidhan Sabha Gherao’ march organised by the JPSC-JSSC Reform Morcha.Several videos surfaced online showing protesters advancing towards the Assembly despite multiple layers of barricading and heightened security as the Monsoon Session of the Jharkhand Assembly remained underway. Videos also showed police using water cannons against the protesters, some of whom were seen dancing and raising slogans as they faced the water jets.Police deployed water cannons as the crowd pushed through successive barricades before resorting to a lathi charge to prevent further movement.Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto also joined the march and was seen being carried by protesters as they moved towards the Assembly. Mahto has been on a hunger strike at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the main protest site, for the past nine days.Carrying a portrait of former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren, 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.”Mahto said protesters had already crossed three layers of barricading and questioned the government’s response to the agitation.“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?” he said.He also urged chief minister Hemant Soren not to allow the situation to escalate.“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,” Mahto said.“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 added.
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Vikram Kumar, a student protester injured in the lathi charge, alleged that police action came without provocation.“Hemant Soren ji, you should not have done this. We were protesting peacefully. We did not even hurl any abuses. Suddenly, the police launched a lathi charge. This is not good,” Kumar said.The protesters are demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and reforms to the recruitment process.The agitation coincided with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registering 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.
