Ranchi, August 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Students protesting under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch continued their march towards the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly on Monday, intensifying their agitation over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
The protest saw heavy police deployment across Ranchi. Several BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi and state president Aditya Sahu, were detained while demonstrating outside Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s residence.
Hundreds of protesting students gathered at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, many of them wearing “VOLUNTEER” T-shirts, before beginning their march towards the Assembly. The agitation has now entered its 17th day, with students demanding cancellation of certain recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), along with a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.
JPSC protest leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike, left for the Assembly in an ambulance and later joined the march on a stretcher carried by supporters.
The latest demonstration came after several rounds of talks between student representatives and a government-appointed panel failed to persuade the protesters to withdraw the agitation.
Speaking to IANS, one student said the movement would continue peacefully until the government responded to their demands. Another protester said the police had tried to stop them, but they would not end the agitation until their concerns were addressed. A third student said the march would continue in a democratic manner and reiterated the demand for cancellation of the Jharkhand CGL examination and a CBI inquiry.
Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha MLA Jairam Kumar Mahato also backed the students and criticised the government, saying the most serious alleged irregularities had taken place in the JSSC-CGL examination.
Amid the protests, demonstrators broke through police barricades near the Old Assembly building and continued moving towards the New Assembly building. Additional police personnel were deployed to prevent any law-and-order situation.
The political temperature also rose after all three members of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission resigned on Sunday. Their resignations were accepted by Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on the recommendation of the state government, according to an official statement from Lok Bhavan.
The Enforcement Directorate has also registered an ECIR in connection with the alleged JPSC exam irregularities.
The state government has said it has accepted 98 per cent of the students’ demands and has urged them to end the protest. The protesters, however, maintain that only three of the 13 examinations they sought to be cancelled have been scrapped. JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said the students remained firm on their demand for a CBI inquiry, while six protesters continued their indefinite hunger strike.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren had earlier assured the students that those responsible for any irregularities in recruitment examinations would face strict action. However, the standoff showed no signs of ending on Monday.
FOLLOW NOW
