Thousands of students protesting alleged paper leaks and irregularities in state recruitment examinations began marching towards the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday, breaching police barricades as they moved forward. The demonstration marked the 17th day of an agitation seeking extensive reforms in the recruitment process.

Students from several districts arrived in Ranchi by trains, buses and private vehicles to participate in the march. Protesters demanded that the state government respond to their concerns and take action over examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission.

The administration deployed large numbers of police personnel and placed barricades at major intersections and sensitive locations amid concerns about law and order. Officers also checked buses and private vehicles along district borders, major roads and highways in an attempt to regulate the number of protesters entering the capital. Most schools in Ranchi remained closed.

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The march followed six rounds of talks between protesting organisations and a government-appointed panel, which failed to produce an agreement. During the latest meeting, students continued to demand a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged irregularities, while six protesters remained on hunger strike as part of the agitation.

The state government said it had accepted 98 per cent of the protesters’ demands and urged them to withdraw their agitation. Student representatives disputed that claim, saying the administration had agreed to cancel only three of the 13 examinations they wanted scrapped. JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said the protesters remained firm on their demand for a CBI investigation.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren had earlier assured students that those responsible for recruitment irregularities would face strict action. Three JPSC members resigned after being summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with alleged irregularities and paper leaks, while commission chairperson L Khiangte had stepped down on July 22. BJP leaders also staged a protest outside the chief minister’s residence.

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