Several organisations, including CPI(ML) Liberation and student bodies AISA and AISF, on Friday condemned the ink attack on All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha Bora during a protest march to the Jharkhand Assembly over alleged irregularities in state recruitment examinations, as police detained the accused.
The incident took place near Birsa Chowk in Ranchi as protesters were marching towards the Assembly. Police detained the man accused of throwing ink at Bora and several other women protesters. According to a police officer, the attacker alleged that Bora was "anti-national".
CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya blamed the attack on BJP-RSS supporters.
"Today RSS-BJP goons threw ink at @neha_aisa and other women protesters in Ranchi. Is this the Sangh brigade's Manusmriti moral code of conduct? Why this mortal Sanghi fear of women protesters?"
Reacting to the incident, Bora posted on social media, "RSS-BJP goons threw ink at me and around 20 other women in Ranchi, Jharkhand! For them, ink is a tool to try to shame others; we will write the future with ink."
In a statement, AISA alleged that BJP and RSS-linked individuals had been running a "propaganda and hate campaign" against Bora since Thursday over her participation in the protest.
"This behaviour only shows who is afraid of people speaking up," the organisation said, claiming that repeated threats had preceded Friday's attack.
AISA said the march was part of an ongoing agitation against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
It demanded action against those responsible for the ink attack and urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to address students' concerns and resolve the alleged recruitment exam irregularities.
(With inputs from PTI)
