Jharkhand recruitment row: Students’ assembly march today as JPSC crisis deepens

Students protesting alleged irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations will march towards the state assembly on Monday, prompting the administration to impose prohibitory orders and strengthen security across Ranchi.

The “Vidhan Sabha March” comes as the agitation enters its third week and the controversy surrounding the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) deepens. Three serving commission members — Ajita Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda and Jamal Ahmed — resigned on Sunday after being summoned for questioning by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The three submitted their resignation letters to Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar. No official reason has yet been given for their decision.

The CID, which is investigating alleged malpractice and manipulation in JPSC recruitment examinations, was scheduled to question Bhattacharya on Monday, Hansda on Tuesday and Ahmed on Wednesday. They could be summoned again depending on the information obtained during the initial questioning.

The agency has previously questioned former JPSC chairman and former chief secretary L Khiangte over four rounds. Investigators sought information about the examination process and decisions taken by the commission.

Four candidates and three alleged middlemen have so far been arrested in connection with the suspected examination fraud. Further arrests could follow as investigators examine evidence gathered during the inquiry, according to sources.

The students’ protest entered its 16th day on Sunday, with six demonstrators continuing an indefinite hunger strike. Protesters are demanding a fair and transparent investigation into the recruitment process.

Ahead of Monday’s march, prohibitory orders are in force within a 750-metre radius of the assembly building. The restrictions, imposed from 6 to 12 August, will apply between 6 am and 10 pm each day.

Similar restrictions were introduced in Jamshedpur from Sunday midnight in view of the demonstration in Ranchi.

Barricades have been erected at key locations, while additional police personnel have been deployed across the state capital. The district administration has urged the protesters to avoid aggressive demonstrations and warned against violence or other unlawful activity during the march.

“In view of the possibility of unrest during the students’ proposed march to the state assembly, the police administration has been put on alert,” ADG (Headquarters) Manoj Kaushik said.

Kaushik appealed to the students to protest in a “peaceful and disciplined” manner, as they had done during the agitation over the past two weeks.

“It is their responsibility to ensure that anti-social elements and troublemakers are prevented from joining the march,” he said.

Ranchi senior superintendent of police Rakesh Ranjan said maintaining law and order during the demonstration was everyone’s responsibility.

“We do not want a blot on the career of any student due to disruption of law and order. Barricades have been put in place at major points with the deployment of adequate police force across the city,” Ranjan said.

Protesters, however, alleged that the police were forcibly stopping hundreds of students travelling to Ranchi from different parts of Jharkhand to join the march.

The security measures have also triggered a political confrontation. BJP state general secretary Amar Bauri alleged that the party’s state president, Aditya Sahu, had been “put under house arrest”.

Bauri said the government would “not be able to achieve success by deploying security personnel outside Sahu’s residence”.

Monday’s march is expected to mark a crucial stage in the continuing agitation, with the resignations of three JPSC members adding to the pressure on the state government and the commission over the alleged recruitment irregularities.

With agency inputs