Jharkhand: Tensions escalated in Ranchi as students protesting alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination were dispersed by the police near the JSSC office. The protest, led by groups such as the Jharkhand Loktantrik Kranti Morcha (JLKM), aimed to encircle the JSSC office over accusations of exam rigging.
In preparation for the protests, the police had implemented strict security measures, including setting up barricades and deploying a large force around key locations like Raj Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s Residence, and the Secretariat, as well as around the JSSC office, turning the area into a high-security zone.
Around 1:30 PM on Monday, a group of students gathered at Namkum Sadabahar Chowk in Ranchi and attempted to march to the JSSC office. However, the police intervened with a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, detaining student leader Devendra Nath Mahato and one other protester.
Despite the protests, the JSSC continued with the document verification process for the 2,145 successful candidates from the CGL exam, which began on Monday and is scheduled to conclude by December 20. The final list of selected candidates for various government roles will be released afterward.
The CGL exam, conducted on September 21-22 across 823 centers in Jharkhand, aimed to fill around 2,000 vacancies in state government departments. Over 3.04 lakh candidates participated, but the exam faced allegations of paper leaks and the repetition of questions from previously canceled exams, leading to widespread protests in cities like Ranchi and Hazaribagh. On December 10, students in Hazaribagh blocked a highway for hours, which resulted in a police lathi-charge. Although a committee formed by the JSSC investigated the allegations and dismissed them, Chief Minister Hemant Soren recently announced that the CID would now probe the matter.