Police have registered three FIRs against 28 named and more than 900 unidentified people following clashes involving job aspirants protesting alleged recruitment irregularities in Jharkhand’s Giridih and Hazaribag districts, officials said on Sunday. The latest police action comes a day after three separate cases were lodged at Ranchi’s Kotwali police station against 14 identified and around 200 unidentified people for allegedly obstructing government work and clashing with police. Taken together, the cases involve more than 1,100 named and unidentified people across the three districts as demonstrations over government recruitment examinations gather momentum in the state.
Eight policemen injured in Hazaribag
In Hazaribag, an FIR was registered at Korra police station against 18 named and around 700 unidentified people over violence during an August 21 demonstration. Protesters had gathered to burn an effigy of Chief Minister Hemant Soren when a confrontation allegedly broke out with police personnel. Hazaribag Sadar DSP Rupak Kumar Singh said the case was registered on the basis of an application submitted by Sadar Circle Officer Ashutosh Kumar. Police have booked the accused under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to assault on police personnel, obstruction of government duty and unlawful assembly.
Eight police personnel were injured during the confrontation, including four sub-inspectors who serve as officers-in-charge of Korra, Lohsinghna, Sadar and Bada Bazar police stations. Korra police station officer-in-charge Nemdhari Rajak said nobody had been arrested or detained so far and investigators were examining CCTV recordings and other video footage to identify those allegedly involved in the violence. Police are also trying to determine the individual roles of protesters before proceeding with further action.
Two FIRs filed in Giridih
Two separate cases have been registered at Giridih Town police station in connection with clashes on Friday and Saturday. The first FIR was filed following a complaint by ABVP activist Anish Rai and names JMM leaders and workers among the accused. Eleven people, including JMM district president Sanjay Singh, have been specifically named, while another 20 people remain unidentified. A second FIR, based on a complaint submitted by Sadar Circle Inspector Manoj Kumar Singh, names around 10 people and lists approximately 200 others as unidentified accused.
According to police, protesters allegedly attempted to stop traffic at five locations and subsequently clashed with personnel who intervened when demonstrators tried to burn an effigy of the chief minister. They have also been accused of using abusive language against Soren during the protests. Thousands of students had assembled at Gandhi Maidan in Giridih on Friday as part of the agitation against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, and the situation deteriorated after police attempted to prevent the effigy burning.
Recruitment decisions fuel protests
The demonstrations are being spearheaded by student leaders associated with the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which has accused the state government of deceiving and betraying job aspirants through its handling of recruitment examinations and appointments. Anger has intensified following government notifications cancelling appointments and recruitment processes linked to the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. The protesters argue that candidates who spent years preparing for examinations should not bear the consequences of alleged administrative or procedural shortcomings.
The dispute has acquired further significance following a series of interventions by the Jharkhand High Court. On Friday, the court stayed notifications cancelling the appointments of Child Development Project Officers and candidates recruited through the JSSC Combined Graduate Level examination. A day earlier, it had stayed notifications cancelling the 11th and 13th JPSC examinations and also put on hold the government's decision to cancel the appointments of food safety officers.
Police scrutinise protest footage
The court orders have strengthened the protesters’ criticism of the government and intensified demands for accountability over the recruitment process. Student groups have questioned why appointments and examinations were cancelled if the decisions could not withstand preliminary judicial scrutiny, while the government and recruitment authorities are now faced with resolving several disputes involving candidates whose careers have been caught in prolonged uncertainty.
Police, meanwhile, are concentrating on the violence that accompanied the demonstrations and are using video recordings to identify additional suspects. While no arrests have been reported in the Hazaribag case so far, investigators have indicated that further action could follow once individuals visible in CCTV and mobile-phone footage are identified. With FIRs now registered in Ranchi, Giridih and Hazaribag, the confrontation between protesting aspirants and the administration has added a law-and-order dimension to what began as a dispute over recruitment examinations and government appointments.