Jharkhand Exam Stir: 110 ABVP Workers Detained

Around 110 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members were detained while marching towards the Jharkhand Assembly to protest police actions against students agitating over alleged irregularities in state Public Service examinations. The detention occurred as the ABVP members began their procession from the old Vidhan Sabha area, according to an officer.

Clashes erupted between the RSS student organization members and police personnel when protesters prevented the bus carrying the detainees from moving. Some women protesters were detained by the police during the march. Two students, including a girl, fainted during the protest; they were carried to a nearby shelter where fellow demonstrators provided water.

The ABVP claimed over 200 workers were arrested by the Ranchi Police during the protest and demanded answers from the government regarding police brutality. ABVP worker Kumar Divyanshu accused the government of attempting to suppress the protestors, stating that security personnel had detained them as they moved towards the assembly.

Another ABVP member, Tushar, alleged that the protesters were being detained without justification and demanded the right to march peacefully. Protesters demanded a CBI probe into alleged exam irregularities and questioned why exam papers were being leaked. Priti Kumari, who arrived from Ranchi to join the ABVP's march, questioned the justice system, expressing concerns about the leak of exam papers and beatings faced by students preparing for jobs.

The student organization announced the protest march in protest against alleged police brutalities during a demonstration on August 10. The agitation, ongoing since July 25, demands transparency in recruitment examinations, reforms in the JPSC and JSSC, and an independent investigation by the CBI or a panel of retired High Court judges from outside Jharkhand.