Jharkhand Student Protest: Hemant Soren Calls For Dialogue After Police Crackdown On Students During Vidhan Sabha Gherao

Jharkhand Students Protest: The students and job aspirants, protesting against the alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) recruitment exams, have reached the Jharkhand Assembly premises and have stationed themselves outside its gate number 1. Despite a lathi charge by police, the protesters have denied vacating the spot, demanding a direct dialogue with Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Several protesters claimed they were injured in the police action, which took place when the march reached the final barricade near Jagannathpur Temple on the road to the Assembly. "Whatever the Hemant Soren government is doing to us is not good. We were protesting peacefully; then why is your police baton charging at us?" a protester said, claiming injury to his head during the lathi charge.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha LoP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has condemned the violence against students and called on the state government to continue to hear the protesters out and resolve their issues immediately. The Congress is part of the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand.

"My message to protesting students in Jharkhand is clear. We condemn any violence against peacefully protesting students. It does not matter where it is happening. We condemn it, we are against it, we do not recommend it, and we do not support it. We are very clear," he said.

Ranchi police resorted to a lathi charge and tear gas shells during protesters' march towards the Jharkhand Assembly. Several protesters have sustained injuries during the police action to stop their "Vidhan Sabha Gherao" march. According to Ranchi City SP Paras Rana, at least four policemen have also sustained injuries after protesters pelted stones at the police.

Here are the latest updates on the Jharkhand protest:

- After a tense day, CM Hemant Soren took to X to reiterate his call to student protesters to resolve the issues through dialogue. He assured that the government would take action on students' demands with "utmost seriousness and sensitivity." He added, "I also understand that amidst your peaceful movement, some people from the opposition have tried to spoil the atmosphere and mislead students for political gain. I appeal to all of you not to fall into the trap of any such political narrative."

- An injured protester Shivam accused the police personnel of beating protestors without any warning while they were waiting for the government to respond. Shivam said, "We were sitting outside the Assembly, waiting for the government to come and respond, but there was no sign of the government. Then the police arrived, and without any warning or discussion, they immediately started lathi-charging... I was hit right here on my back. He was hit on the chest, and my brother was hit on the hand. There were at least 100 young people who were lathi-charged... Look at their condition; they are having severe chest pain. They have been on a hunger strike for the last nine days."

- The situation escalated late Monday evening after students insisting on marching to the Assembly and Devendra Nath Mahato clashed with police. Police were forced to resort to force (lathi charge) to control the crowd. After a day-long protest, Mahato was admitted to Ranchi's Sadar Hospital. 

- Student leader Ravindra Paswan accused the police of brutality and urged all parents to come out in support of the protest. He also said that now the protesters demand a direct dialogue with CM Hemant Soren, calling the government delegation "incapable".

"We will make just one statement: the government is not serious about our issues; its intentions are not aligned with ours at all; instead, it is driving us away from here using lathis. This movement has now evolved from a student protest into a mass movement. I would like to appeal to all parents: Step out of your homes to support your children's fight; bring your sons and daughters along. The way they did the lathi-charge, the government lacks morality; its conscience is dead. On one hand, you are cutting cakes and celebrating; on the other, you are raining lathis down on thousands of students who are out on the streets. Shouldn't you have issued a statement addressing the situation? They claim we belong to the BJP and that the BJP helps us. Even if the opposition did help, what wrong did they do? It is the opposition's job to step in when the ruling party becomes tyrannical. On one side, there is a student protest, and on the other, the opposition is responding to it. What is wrong with that? We want to speak directly to the Chief Minister, but the delegates sent to us have no logic; they are incapable of understanding reason," he said.

- "Our future strategy depends on the government's decision. I said on day one itself: this voice is not just Devendra Nath Mahato's. It is the voice of those millions of youths whose futures depend on competitive examinations those who seek to realize their dreams through books. Attempts were made to stop us. Barricades of barbed wire were erected. Water cannons were used. Tear gas was deployed. Lathi charges were carried out, leaving people injured. Yet, we did not raise a single slogan against the government," Devendra Mahato said.

"We did not engage in any political rhetoric or utter a single obscene word. The only flag present was the Tricolour. Exams are conducted with candidates sitting in places like Nepal. What faith can one have in the investigation? My blood pressure is low, and my blood sugar has dropped to 53. My body is failing me, but even if I were to die, it wouldn't seem to matter. Bhagat Singh made the ultimate sacrifice in 1926; today, in 2026, we are still fighting," he added.

- Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi has extended support to the protesters in Jharkhand, saying that the use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand is wrong. He further called on the state government to continue to hear the protesters out and resolve their issues immediately. The Congress is part of the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand. "Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions. The Jharkhand government must continue to hear these students out and resolve their issues immediately," he said.

- Ranchi Police had set up barricades outside the Jharkhand Assembly to block the protesting students. However, the demonstrators bypassed the checkpoints by taking a route through farm fields to surround the assembly complex. Earlier, as the students marched toward the site, police urged them not to advance. When the protestors persisted in pushing forward, security forces deployed force and fired tear gas shells to disperse the large crowd.

- The protesters have entered the Jharkhand Assembly premises. Visuals captured by Jagran reporters show hundreds of protesters inside the Vidhan Sabha.

- Several protestors were injured in police action during the march towards the state assembly. A protestor named Sanjay Mahato, lying on the ground after being wounded, said, "My head and legs are hurting, and my head is bleeding." Another protester was injured in a police lathi-charge near MLAs' residential quarters. He was taken away in an ambulance. 

- "You can see the pain of students in this Vidhan Sabha march. Even after 9 days of my hunger strike, I came here in an ambulance and a I am part of this march on a stretcher.  But this Govt is crushing our voice, and using water cannon and tear gas shells. This is condemnable. Govt is scared, this is coward govt. Sarkar jab jab darti hai, tab tab Police ko aage karti hai...We will continue to march ahead. We had 3 rounds of discussions with the Govt, they should meet our demands. If students' demands are not met, the CM post will be under threat. Govt will be shaken, this agitation is not going to stop. This has become a mass movement. The palindrome of 'Yuva' (youth) is 'Vayu' (wind) - nobody can stop 'Vayu' (wind)," Devendra Mahato said.

- Police use tear gas as thousands of job aspirants march to Jharkhand assembly, breaching barricades, over alleged exam irregularities.

-Amidst student protests in Ranchi, former Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Chairman L Kyangte has been arrested. Former Chairman L Kyangte was summoned for questioning by the CID on July 28 in connection with an investigation into alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination and other recruitment exams. Previously, his official residence and the JPSC office were raided, and documents, OMR sheets, and digital evidence were seized.

- According to Gaurav Goswami, SP Rural in Ranchi, a mild lathi charge was used when some of them attempted to reach the last barricading where Section 163 is already in effect. "Minimum use of lathi was done. We are speaking with the students continuously. They are peaceful right now, we are engaging with them continuously. They students have agreed with us to stop here itself for sometime," he added.

-Jharkhand Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi accused the state government of failing to take concrete action on the ongoing student agitation over alleged recruitment exam irregularities. Marandi said several students had fallen ill while some were on hunger strike and reiterated the protesters’ demand for a CBI probe.

- Police lathi-charged the crowd amid rising tension in the student protest. 3 protesters and a JAP personnel suffered serious injuries.

- Earlier visuals from the 'Vidhan Sabha gherao' march of protesting students, as security personnel launched a lathi charge to control the crowd. Student protesters hurled slippers and empty bottles of water at them, in retaliation.

-Watch visuals from the 'Vidhan Sabha gherao' march of protesting students. Police resorted to a mild lathi charge to control the crowd.

-Amid student protests in Ranchi, Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) MLA Jairam Kumar Mahato says, "Opposition parties will obviously extend a little support (to the protest), this happens everywhere. But students are agitated. It is their protest. If their demands are met, they won't protest."

- Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato criticised the administration’s use of spiked barricades to stop the protesters, questioning the need for such measures against protesting students. “When the government put up spiked barricading, despite not being well, I could not stop myself. Is this the Pakistan, Bangladesh or China border? These are students,” Mahato said.

- Students marching towards the Assembly in Jharkhand lifted hunger striker Devendra Mahato on their shoulders and joined the march.

 

-As student leader Devendra Nath Mahto joins the 'Vidhan Sabha gherao' march, he says, "...Despite being on a hunger strike, I have come here. They won't be able to stop us. I reached here in an ambulance, and I am going ahead on a stretcher. I have been on a hunger strike for the past 9 days, and the govt will have to accept our demands."

- Protestor Devendra Nath Mahato came in an ambulance and then joined the agitation in a stretcher. 

-Thousands of student protesters participate in 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march, as part of the protest against JPSC-JSSC alleged irregularities. 

- Student protestors crossed three barricades to reach the assembly. Watch visuals.

-JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a nine-day fast over alleged recruitment irregularities, joined the students’ march to the Jharkhand Assembly in an ambulance.

-PSC-JSSC aspirants march towards Ranchi Assembly, face police barricades, and break through the first barricade while advancing towards the Assembly.

- Protestors carry posters in hand during the march towards Assembly.

- MLA Jairam Kumar Mahato says, "This is a failure of the govt. They should have accepted the demand (of cancellation of exams).The govt indeed accepted several demands; I thank them for this. But the important demand is about the JSSC-CGL exam (cancellation). Maximum irregularities happened here. Abhay Tiwari has admitted that he got about 400 candidates selected."

- BJP's Jharkhand unit spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo says he and several other leaders are under house arrest since 7 am

-Police detain BJP leaders, including Aditya Sahu and Babulal Marandi, protesting outside the CM's residence over exam irregularities.

- BJP state president Aditya Sahu, leader of the opposition Babulal Marandi, and all BJP MLAs have staged a sit-in protest on the road leading to the Chief Minister's residence. BJP leaders are supporting the students' demand for a CBI investigation into the JPSC recruitment scandal.

- The protesting students rejected the government’s claim that it had accepted 98 per cent of their demands, saying only “three of the 13 examinations they wanted to be cancelled had been scrapped.

-The Jharkhand students’ ‘Vidhan Sabha March’ is scheduled to begin between 10:30 and 11 am on Monday, with protesters gathering at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium from 9 am. Student leader Ravindra Paswan urged participants to maintain peace and follow constitutional norms, saying students from districts across Jharkhand were expected to join the march.

- Ahead of the march, the Jharkhand Police and administration have tightened security, installing razor fencing along the route near Jagannath Temple. A prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is also in force within a 750-metre radius of the state Assembly.

-The protesting students have left from Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to participate in Vidhan Sabha march today, August 10, as reported by news agency ANI. The protesting JPSC-JSSC aspirants have appealed to students to maintain unity and ensure that Monday’s Vidhan Sabha march remains peaceful.

-ED has stepped in to investigate irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) 14th preliminary exam. The ED filed an ECIR last week based on the FIR registered with CID. Earlier on Sunday, the Hemant Soren-led government announced a CID and ED probe into alleged recruitment irregularities after a marathon meeting with the JPSC-JSSC protesting students.

-Students and aspirants started arriving at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi for the Assembly March. At 10 a.m., they will all march together to surround the Assembly.

The situation escalated late Monday evening after students insisting on marching to the Assembly and Devendra Nath Mahato clashed with police. Police were forced to resort to force (lathi charge) to control the crowd. After a day-long protest, Mahato was admitted to Ranchi's Sadar Hospital.