Police used water cannons, lobbed tear gas shells, and lathi-charged job aspirants as they breached barricades and closed in on Jharkhand Assembly premises, protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment exams, mirroring the police crackdown on student protesters in Delhi last month as they led a march on Parliament.
Several protesters claimed they were injured in the police action, which took place when they reached the final barricade near Jagannathpur Temple on the road to the assembly.
"My head and legs are hurting, and my head is bleeding," protester Sanjay Mahto, who was injured in a police lathi-charge, told news agency PTI.
"The baton charge was barbaric. We were protesting peacefully, but the government used batons against us. They can only inflict physical injuries, not harm our thoughts," Piyush Kumar Soni, a protester, said.
The government has held several rounds of talks with the demonstrators, but failed to break the deadlock. The protesters said the government had agreed to cancel only three of the 13 exams they wanted scrapped.
The agitators are demanding comprehensive reforms in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
They are also seeking cancellation of several recruitment tests, including the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, and an independent probe into the alleged irregularities, either by the CBI or by a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state.
The march, which coincided with the 51st birthday of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, began from outside the old assembly building around 10.30 am as the protest over the recruitment exam irregularities entered the 17th day.
JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a fast for nine days over the issue, joined the march in an ambulance. He was seen carrying a portrait of former chief minister Shibu Soren.
Objecting to the installation of barbed-wire barricades along the route of the assembly march, Mahto said anger was brewing among students over the injustices done to them.
"The government is hell-bent on suppressing our voice. We will not hold any talks now," he said.
As police used water cannons when the march reached Jagannathpur Temple, the demonstrators broke into dance, waving the national flag. But the situation soon escalated when the protesters attempted to march forward, prompting the police to baton charge.
Failing to restrain the gathering, the police fired several rounds of tear gas shells when the protesters were about 200 meters away from the assembly.
The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which is spearheading the agitation, said it has deployed around 500 volunteers to prevent anti-social elements from joining the march.'
State minister Sudivya Kumar claimed that the BJP had "hijacked" the protest for its political ambition.
Talking to reporters outside the assembly, he said it was unfortunate that the job aspirants were agitating despite the government fulfilling 95 per cent of their demands.
Earlier, replying to a query on the protests in the assembly, Kumar alleged the agitation has shifted from being a students' movement to one dominated by "BJP's evil mentality and political designs".
