Ranchi: The Jharkhand student agitation over alleged irregularities and paper leaks in JPSC-JSSC recruitment examinations entered its 20th day on Thursday, with protesters insisting the movement will continue until their demands are met and maintaining their hunger strike.
JLKM leader Devendra Mahto, who has been fasting for 11 days, sought permission to return to the protest site from the hospital.
The stir has gained further political momentum, with former Chief Minister Raghubar Das joining the protest and warning of a hunger strike, as reported by DNA.
Police Book 600 Protesters
In the latest development, Ranchi Police has registered a case against unidentified anti-social elements based on a complaint filed by students, reports said.
The case has been registered at the Assembly police station on the basis of a statement by the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch. Police have booked the unidentified individuals for allegedly breaking barricades, creating a ruckus and attacking police personnel, among other charges.
According to India Today reports, Police have registered an FIR against 600 protesters, naming 100 protesters, while 500 unidentified students and other protesters have also been booked.
‘My Soul Is At The Satyagraha Site’
JLKM leader Devendra Mahto, who had to be shifted to the hospital on Monday after his health deteriorated following his participation in a march by agitating students to the Jharkhand Assembly.
In his letter to the Ranchi civil surgeon, Mahto said that thousands of students who have been agitating for their rights stand with him in this fight, and that this is not just a protest but also a responsibility and a source of hope for him.
“Today, I wrote a letter to the civil surgeon seeking permission to go to the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the protest site. My body is undergoing treatment on the hospital bed, but my soul is at the satyagraha site where students and youth are engaged in a just struggle for their future,” Mahto said in a social media post.
Raghubar Das Warns Soren Govt
Meanwhile, former Jharkhand chief minister and senior BJP leader Raghubar Das issued a stern warning to the Hemant Soren-led government that he would sit on a hunger strike if the demands raised by the protesters are not met.
“I strongly condemn the pressure tactics employed by officials of the Hemant Soren government to break the morale of our youth and children and force them to end their agitation,” the BJP leader said.
Das cautioned that officials would have to answer to the Union government as well as to citizens. In a related development, the ABVP said it would hold rallies at more than 1,200 campuses and in all districts, intensifying the squeeze on the Hemant Soren dispensation.
On August 10, police resorted to tear gas, water jets and baton charges as students tried to surround the Vidhan Sabha. The agitators are pressing for scrapping the JSSC-CGL test, a CBI inquiry into the alleged malfeasance and sweeping changes to how recruitment is conducted.