Ranchi: The Jharkhand Police has intensified security measures in and around the state assembly and imposed prohibitory orders in Ranchi ahead of a protest march by students on Monday against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, PTI reported.
The students, who have been demonstrating for over two weeks, have called for a ‘Vidhan Sabha March’ to press their demands.
BJP leader Amar Bauri on Sunday alleged that party state president Aditya Sahu had been “put under house arrest”.
Bauri, also the BJP’s state general secretary, said deploying security personnel outside Sahu’s residence would “not be able to achieve success” for the government.
The police administration has made extensive arrangements in anticipation of the proposed picketing near the Assembly, officials said.
“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.
The senior police officer appealed to the students taking part in the march to maintain peace and discipline, pointing out that they had displayed restraint during their protest over the past two weeks.
“It is their responsibility to ensure that anti-social elements and troublemakers are prevented from joining the march,” the ADG said.
Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan said all stakeholders would have to contribute to maintaining law and order during the demonstration.
“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,” the SSP said.
A prohibitory order has been in effect within a 750-metre radius of the Vidhan Sabha building since August 6 and will remain operational until August 12, he said. The restrictions will apply between 6 am and 10 pm on each of these days.
Jamshedpur also witnessed the imposition of similar restrictions from Sunday midnight in view of the proposed protest march in Ranchi, according to an official statement.
The Ranchi district administration urged the agitating students not to resort to aggressive forms of protest while participating in the march.
The administration also warned them against violence and any unlawful activity during the demonstration near the assembly.
The protesting students, however, alleged that police personnel were forcibly preventing hundreds of aspirants travelling to Ranchi from various parts of Jharkhand from reaching the state capital.
The agitation completed its 16th day on Sunday, with six students continuing their hunger strike over the alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.