Party Demands CBI Probe Into Recruitment Exam Row As Standoff Deepens
Key Points:
- BJP calls Jharkhand bandh from 8 am on August 11
- Party accuses Hemant Soren government of repeated lathicharge on protesting students
- Babulal Marandi seeks immediate CBI probe into JPSC, JSSC exams
RANCHI – Jharkhand’s opposition BJP has called for a state-wide shutdown on Monday, August 11, protesting what it called excessive police action against agitating students. State party president Aditya Sahu announced the bandh alongside Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi at a joint press conference held at the party’s state office.
Sahu said the shutdown would begin at 8 am and continue through the day, with only essential services exempted. He added that pilgrims undertaking the ongoing Kanwar Yatra would not be granted any special exemptions during the bandh.
The BJP leader alleged that students had been protesting peacefully for 17 days, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the 14th Ranchi Public Service Commission preliminary examination and other recruitment exams conducted over the past seven years. He claimed the state government responded with force rather than dialogue.
According to Sahu, students were subjected to baton charges on four separate occasions, including one late at night. He said hundreds of demonstrators were injured in the crackdown, and some remain unaccounted for.
Sahu also questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the issue, since the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led coalition government functions with Congress support. He urged the party to either press for a CBI inquiry or withdraw backing from the state administration.
Meanwhile, Babulal Marandi said students gathered at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium have been demonstrating for 15 days over alleged malpractice in the JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission examinations. He accused the administration of stringing students along under the guise of negotiations.
The BJP leader described Monday’s police action as unprecedented in its severity, though he noted similar treatment of protesting students dates back to 2024. He said authorities had, this time, even denied students permission to set up tents at the protest site.
Marandi further alleged irregularities across multiple examinations conducted over the past six years. He claimed the JSSC released results for an assistant teacher recruitment drive in a piecemeal fashion, and that some candidates in the JSSC-CGL exam were allegedly taken to Nepal to memorize answers.
He said an initial CID investigation into the matter had been progressing correctly before the probe team was reconstituted. Under a new investigator, Manoj Kaushik, he alleged the inquiry was diluted.
Additional allegations of malpractice were raised regarding the PGT recruitment exam. Separately, Marandi said 17 young aspirants died during a physical endurance run for excise constable recruitment. He also cited irregularities across the 11th, 13th, and 14th JPSC examinations.
Marandi called the CID’s arrest of former JPSC chairman L. Khiangte a token gesture, alleging the state government could grant him default bail without filing a chargesheet, similar to how it had treated former bureaucrat Vinay Choubey. He accused state agencies of working to suppress the truth, and questioned what he described as leniency shown toward JSSC’s officiating chairman, IAS officer Prashant Kumar.
The BJP leader reiterated that students are demanding only a CBI investigation, asking why the government would resist an inquiry if it believes no wrongdoing occurred. He appealed to Hemant Soren to order the probe without further delay if the state leadership has no involvement in the alleged irregularities.
