Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke spoke to Jharkhand student leader Devendra Nath Mahto over a video call on Monday night, hours after Mahto was admitted to Ranchi's Sadar Hospital after a protest march to the Jharkhand Assembly. Dipke said Mahto told him that he was lathi-charged by police during the demonstration and was experiencing chest pain.
Mahto, a leader of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM), has been on hunger strike for nine days protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). Despite his deteriorating health, he joined the 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march on Monday.
The protest, attended by many students and job hopefuls, was tense as protesters rushed the state Assembly. Police deployed water cannons, tear gas and lathicharge to disperse protesters. Some of the protesters said they were injured during the police action, but authorities claimed that the police engaged primarily when some of the crowd got aggressive.
‘Mahto Is A True Hero’: Abhijeet Dipke
After Mahto's admission to hospital, Dipke said he spoke to the student leader late Monday night. In a social media post featuring a screenshot of their video call, the CJP founder said Mahto told him he had been subjected to a police lathicharge before being taken to hospital.
Dipke also said Mahto was experiencing chest pain. In a speech condemning police brutality, Dipke said that such treatment of students was cruel and inhuman and the CJP was firmly behind Mahto and his movement.
As Dipke described Mahto as a “true hero,” he praised the student leader who continued to push on the protest even though he was on hunger strike for over a week. But Dipke and the protesters have not independently established the reasons behind Mahto’s purported injuries.
Ranchi Protest Turns Chaotic
The 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march was organised as part of the wider student movement against purported irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations. The students and candidates are taking account and taking action in this recruiting process.
Protesters said they were waiting by the Assembly for the government to respond to their demands when police began dispersing the crowd. Some injured protesters said that the lathicharge took place without warning.
Shivam, one protester, claimed he had been injured in the back and chest and said that his brother had also been hit on the arm. He claimed that around 100 young protesters were subjected to lathicharge.
Vikram Kumar, another demonstrator, criticized the Hemant Soren-led state government and said the protesters had gathered peacefully before the police action began.
The protests have only worsened political tension around the recruitment process and opposition parties are trying to use the situation as a way of targeting the state government.
Ranchi DC Defends Police Action
Manjunath Bhajantri, Ranchi Deputy Commissioner, defended the administration's response, saying the force used by police was "mild" and "minimum." Bhajantri also claimed that security personnel had repeatedly appealed to the protesters to disperse but some demonstrators refused to move.
The DC said the situation escalated after a stone was thrown at a police jawan and another member of the security force was caught in a crowd and faced a threat to his life. Police then used mild force to rescue the jawan and restore normalcy, he said.
Bhajantri also said the administration had tried to avoid confrontation throughout the student movement. The indefinite protest began on July 24, according to the district administration, and was moved to Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium on July 28 after discussions over the location of the demonstration.
He also observed that a delegation of students and a government panel had talked during the agitation. The administration maintains that police exercised restraint and only used force when it was challenging to control things.
BJP Announces Jharkhand Bandh
The confrontation has also triggered a political reaction. The Jharkhand BJP president Aditya Sahu has put up a statewide bandh for Tuesday, accusing the state government of injustice and atrocities against students.
Sahu claimed young people had suffered because of recruitment-related problems and examination paper leaks. He also condemned the police action during Monday's protest, claiming that tear gas and other projectiles were used and hundreds of students were injured.
The BJP said its workers would take to the streets in support of the protesting students and called for Jharkhand to be brought to a standstill.
Ranchi administration has appealed for a peaceful bandh. Bhajantri warned that action would be taken against anyone who disrupts law and order, incites violence or disrupts public peace.
The developments have set the JPSC-JSSC protest movement at the center of a larger political confrontation in Jharkhand. With Mahto still in health distress after nine days of hunger strike and political parties taking up the issue, the question is whether the state government can find a solution through dialogue and address the students’ demands without further escalation.
The allegations of excessive force and the administration’s justification are contested, and it is important that the injuries, sequence of events and circumstances of the police action are evaluated independently as the protest continues.
