Ranchi: Ranchi became a scene of chaos on Monday afternoon after thousands of job aspirants who were protesting the irregularities in their recruitment examinations knotted up with the police during a bus protest on their way to the Jharkhand Assembly.
The protesters had converged to demand actions on the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in the State. The 17th demonstration took place on Monday, as marchers were walking from outside the old Assembly building to the new Assembly building.
The march was kicked off around 10:30 am and was timed to coincide with the 51st birthday of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The situation heightened when the protesters got to the last barricade on the path to the new Assembly close to the Jagannathpur Temple. Police fire propane and water cannons, handcuffed and baton charge disperse crowd.
A number of protesters reported having injuries resulting from the police operation. Piyush Kumar Soni, a member of the protest, lashed out against the baton charge and said that the protest was originally peaceful, but then police intervened.
He further stated that several female students were injured, saying that protesters suffered injuries to their heads, arms and faces.
But police had other account of the incident. A part of the protesters got violent and allegedly started throwing stones at the security forces, behind which the security forces controlled the situation, officials said.
The drive for accountability and corrective action due to alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations has been ongoing for over two weeks, as job aspirants protested against the issue.
The violence has now become a point of escalation of pressure on the Jharkhand government to placate the protestors and come up with a solution to the current agitation.