Jharkhand job exam stir enters 14th day, protester on hunger strike taken to hospital
One of the six protesters, who have been on a hunger strike as part of a demonstration against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in
One of the six protesters, who have been on a hunger strike as part of a demonstration against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand, was taken to a hospital here after his health condition deteriorated on Friday (August 7, 2026), an official said. The student leader, identified as Rahul Kranti, who has been on fast since Tuesday night (August 4, 2026), was taken in an ambulance to the Ranchi Sadar hospital for treatment, he said. Earlier in the day, Kranti had said the protesters had appealed to the administration for a health check-up, but no doctors reached the demonstration site till 8:30 a.m. Five protesters, including two women, on Tuesday night (August 4, 2026) joined Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto in his hunger strike.
Mahto has been on fast for the past six days. Social activist Sonam Wangchuk, who recently observed a 26-day hunger strike in Delhi over the NEET paper leak issue, spoke to Mahto over the phone on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) and urged him to at least drink water, following which Mahto started taking water. The protest against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand entered its 14th day on Friday (August 7, 2026) with two student unions announcing that they would hold a march to the State Assembly, which is in session, during the day. The demonstrators have been demanding cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination and an independent probe into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment test either by the CBI or by a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state.
They also stressed comprehensive reforms in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission The ripples of the demonstration reached the Jharkhand Assembly on Thursday (August 6, 2026), with Opposition MLAs raising slogans on its premises on the first day of the Monsoon Session. The protest, which began on July 25 under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here, emerged as one of the biggest student-led movements in the State in recent years. The protesters said they had been forced to adopt the extreme form of agitation after repeated appeals to the government “failed” to produce any concrete action.
“We have formed an 11-member delegation, comprising eight students, two experts and an advocate, in response to the government’s offer to hold talks in connection with the stir,” said an office bearer of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch. A five-member government panel, including ministers Dipika Pandey Singh and Sudivya Kumar, is likely to interact with the protesters, an official said.
The BriefWire