Protests grow in Indian state over alleged exam irregularities
Devendra Nath Mahto/XHundreds of students and government job applicants are protesting in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
They are demanding that a preliminary civil service exam held in April be cancelled and conducted again, and that India's premier investigative agency investigate alleged malpractice in other state recruitment exams.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has said the allegations are being investigated and promised that students will get justice.
The protests have gained national attention after a much larger youth-led demonstration in Delhi over exam paper leaks led to the resignation of a federal minister last month.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) - not a political party, but a youth-led movement - which led the Delhi protests has announced its support to the protesters.
The protests in Jharkhand began on 25 July and intensified four days later when demonstrators gathered at a stadium in state capital Ranchi for an indefinite sit-in.
They are demanding an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as well as a fast-track court to hear cases linked to the alleged irregularities.
A few of the protesters, including political activist Devendra Nath Mahto who contested the last state election with the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha party, have been on a hunger strike since Sunday in support of the demands.
ANIThe row erupted after last month's preliminary civil service exam results, with some candidates alleging that answer sheets shared online showed successful applicants had answered fewer questions than expected, fuelling suspicions of manipulation.
Hundreds of thousands sit these highly competitive exams each year because government jobs offer prized security and stability.
The row has since widened into broader allegations over recruitment exams in the state. Chief Minister Hemant Soren said a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe was under way, including claims that the exam contract was awarded to an agency previously accused of irregularities. More than a dozen people have been arrested.
Jharkhand Public Service Commission chairman L Khiangte resigned on 22 July, before the protests began, and the commission later postponed the main examination.
The protests have created a political firestorm in Jharkhand, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the opposition.
The Congress, which governs the state with Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) but sits in opposition nationally, has made exam paper leaks and the police crackdown on student protesters in Delhi a key issue against Modi's government. The party has said it supports the protests in Jharkhand.
The BJP, meanwhile, has held protests outside the state assembly against the government and some of its lawmakers have met the protesters and announced their support.
