Ranchi: The opposition BJP called for a Jharkhand bandh on Tuesday to protest "police atrocities" and lathi-charge on students agitating over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in the state.
BJP state president Aditya Sahu said the bandh will be effective from 8 am till midnight.
"It will be a state-wide bandh. All essential services, however, are excluded from the purview of the shutdown," Sahu told reporters at the party headquarters here.
The BJP leader alleged that students were treated like criminals during the march to the assembly.
"The police fired tear gas shells, used water cannons and batons. Even in the evening, batons were rained down on the protestors. Hundreds of students were injured. They were admitted to hospitals. This is a dictatorial government," Sahu claimed.
He accused the JMM-led alliance government of cheating students and demanded that "barbaric action against the students" be stopped.
Several agitators and four policemen were injured during a clash near the Jharkhand assembly on Monday, as police used water cannons, tear gas and lathi-charged job aspirants protesting against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, officials said.
The clash took place after the protesters breached multiple barricades near the Jharkhand Assembly.
While the protesters alleged that several of them, including women, were injured in the police action, Ranchi City SP Paras Rana said four policemen suffered injuries during stone pelting by the demonstrators.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi said, "This was not the first time this government dealt with students in barbaric way. In 2024, the government had treated protesting students in the same manner."
He alleged that whether it is the JSSC or the JPSC, both agencies have been engaged in selling jobs for the past six years, while students continued to struggle.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
