Police use water cannons, tear gas as job aspirants march on Jharkhand Assembly

A tense protest outside the Jharkhand Assembly descended into chaos on Monday as police used water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges to stop thousands of job aspirants who breached barricades while marching against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.

Several protesters claimed they were injured during the police action, which unfolded near the final barricade at Jagannathpur Temple on the road leading to the assembly, where the House is currently in session.

“The baton charge was barbaric. We were protesting peacefully, but the government used batons against us. They can only inflict physical injuries, not harm our thoughts,” protester Piyush Kumar Soni told PTI.

Soni alleged that several female students were also injured, claiming police personnel struck protesters on their heads, arms and faces.

Vikram Kumar, who travelled from Hazaribag, said he suffered a head injury during the confrontation. Questioning the police action, he said the protesters had been demonstrating peacefully and asked why they were subjected to a baton charge.

Barricades breached, tensions rise

The march began around 10.30 am from outside the old assembly building as the agitation entered its 17th day. The timing coincided with chief minister Hemant Soren’s 51st birthday.

JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike for nine days over the issue, joined the march in an ambulance. He carried a portrait of former chief minister Shibu Soren as he made his way towards the protest site.

Mahto objected to the barbed-wire barricades erected along the route, saying resentment among students was mounting over what they described as injustice in the recruitment process.

Carrying tricolours and placards demanding the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination or a CBI probe, thousands of young protesters pushed through successive barricades despite a heavy security presence.

Other placards called for an impartial investigation and questioned why the CID had not conducted raids at JSSC offices.

As the gathering reached Jagannathpur Temple, police deployed water cannons. The protesters initially responded by waving the national flag and dancing, but the mood quickly turned confrontational when they attempted to move beyond the security cordon.

Police then resorted to lathi charges. When the gathering remained difficult to contain and protesters advanced to within roughly 200 metres of the assembly, several rounds of tear gas shells were fired.

“If we cannot reach the assembly, our voices must reach them,” one protester said, accusing the government of treating job aspirants like “traitors” and leaving them with no option but to take to the streets.

Heavy security along assembly route

Authorities had imposed prohibitory orders ahead of the march and deployed a formidable security blanket along the roughly 4-km stretch leading to the assembly.

More than 1,500 personnel drawn from the Rapid Action Force, Indian Reserve Battalion, district police and Quick Reaction Teams were deployed, officials said. Senior police officers monitored the situation closely as the march unfolded.

The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which is leading the agitation, said it had deployed around 500 volunteers to prevent anti-social elements from infiltrating the demonstration.

JLKM MLA Jairam Mahto, who joined the protest a day after observing a hunger strike, questioned the police response and maintained that the demonstrators were carrying only flags and placards, not weapons.

Government, protesters remain divided

The confrontation comes despite several rounds of talks between the government and representatives of the protesters, which have so far failed to resolve the dispute.

State minister Sudivya Kumar accused the BJP of “hijacking” the agitation for political gain, while speaking to reporters outside the assembly.

He claimed the government had already fulfilled around 95 per cent of the protesters’ demands and criticised them for continuing the agitation.

Earlier, responding to questions in the assembly, Kumar alleged that the movement had shifted from a students’ protest into an agitation driven by what he described as the BJP’s political agenda.

Protest leaders, however, maintain that the government has agreed to scrap only three of the 13 examinations they want cancelled.

The protesters are demanding sweeping reforms in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), along with the cancellation of several recruitment examinations, including the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination.

They are also seeking an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities, either by the Central Bureau of Investigation or by a panel of retired high court judges from outside Jharkhand.

With negotiations failing to bridge the widening divide, Monday’s confrontation has added a volatile new chapter to the 17-day agitation, bringing the simmering anger of thousands of job aspirants directly to the gates of the state legislature.

With PTI inputs