Protesting job aspirants face water cannons as they march to Jharkhand Assembly
Thousands of job aspirants, protesting exam irregularities, faced water cannons as they marched to the Jharkhand assembly on Monday (August 11, 2026), breaching barricades one
Thousands of job aspirants, protesting exam irregularities, faced water cannons as they marched to the Jharkhand assembly on Monday (August 11, 2026), breaching barricades one after the other. Also read: Jharkhand students protest updates on August 10, 2026 Armed with tricolours and placards, the demonstrators broke into dance as police used water cannons when they reached the final barricade near Jagannathpur Temple on the road to the new Assembly Complex. They raised slogans in support of their demands as their protest entered the 17th day. The march, which coincided with the 51st birthday of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, began from outside the old Assembly building around 10:30 a.m. JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a fast for nine days over the issue, joined the march in an ambulance despite losing 10.5 kg.
He was seen carrying a portrait of former Chief Minister Shibu Soren. “We are protesting peacefully, and we urge everyone to help us maintain that peace. We are raising the voice of lakhs of students who are fighting for their dreams and careers... My health is failing,” he said. The placards being carried by the protesters read “Cancel JSSC-CGL Exams or Conduct a CBI Probe”, “Why is CID escaping from conducting a raid on JSSC?” and “Conduct an impartial investigation, bring out the truth.” “If we cannot reach the assembly, our voices must reach them. We do not fear the government, which is treating us like traitors. We have been compelled to take to the streets,” a protester said. The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which is spearheading the agitation, said it has deployed around 500 volunteers to prevent anti-social elements from joining the march.
DSP Arvind Kumar Verma said the march has so far been peaceful, and police are exercising restraint. Besides imposing prohibitory orders, heavy security has been deployed on the entire stretch, around 4 km long, with senior officers keeping a close watch, officials said. More than 1,500 personnel from the Rapid Action Force, Indian Reserve Battalion, district police and QRT have been deployed, they said. Most of the schools in the city have been closed, they added. The Government has held several rounds of talks with the demonstrators but failed to break the deadlock. After the last round of deliberations, the government said it had accepted 98 per cent of the demands of the demonstrators. However, the protesters said the government had agreed to cancel only three of the 13 exams they wanted scrapped.
The BriefWire