Jharkhand: 200 ABVP activists detained during march against lathi-charge on protesters

On Tuesday, more than 200 activists from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were detained during a protest march in Ranchi. The demonstrators were marching from the Old Assembly area towards the new Assembly building to express their discontent over the police lathi-charge on students the previous day. Among those arrested were the ABVP national general secretary Dr Virendra Singh Solanki, national secretary Abhay Pratap Singh, and Jharkhand state secretary Prakash Tuti.

ABVP social media coordinator Satyam Mishra informed that the activists were apprehended near the Old Assembly around 2-2.30 pm after the police halted their march and transported them to different vehicles. They were eventually released at 9 pm.

The ABVP had organized the protest following the lathi-charge incident on students during their march on August 10. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had called for a Jharkhand bandh in response to the police action against the protesting students. The BJP's state general secretary, Amar Kumar Bauri, criticized the government's handling of the situation, accusing it of using force against the students and suppressing their movement.

He emphasized that the hashtag #HitlerHemant was more than a social media trend—it symbolized the government's brutal treatment of students. Bauri vowed that the BJP would continue fighting "from the streets to the Assembly."

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who was reportedly injured during the protest on Monday, released an open letter from the hospital. In the letter, Mahto thanked the participants of the Assembly gherao program and called for action against those responsible for the lathi-charge on peaceful protesters. Additionally, students organized a silent march in protest against the lathi-charge on Tuesday evening.