RANCHI: The students' protest over demands related to the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) will continue despite the alleged police lathi-charge, representatives of the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch said on Tuesday.
The students said they would now seek talks only with Chief Minister Hemant Soren, rather than the government's high-level committee.
The situation at the protest site changed after Monday's gherao of the Jharkhand Assembly, but the agitation had not weakened, contrary to some claims, the representatives said.
Students staged a silent and peaceful protest in Ranchi on Tuesday.
“Despite lathi-charge, this protest would continue till all our demands are met. As even three rounds of talks with the high-level committee remained inconclusive, we will now talk only with the Chief Minister, rather than any committee or representative,” said student leader Piyush Kumar Singh.
A silent protest march was organised in the evening against the alleged lathi-charge on students, Singh added.
The Manch said the hunger strike and agitation would continue. Students said the protest was being expressed not through words, but through silence, adding that their presence had become the voice of the struggle.
During the silent march, students were advised not to raise slogans or engage in conversation with others. Media personnel were also requested not to seek comments from students.
Meanwhile, the BJP claimed that the impact of the JMM-Congress government's crackdown on students in Jharkhand was evident on social media. The party said #HitlerHemant was trending at number one on X.
BJP state general secretary Amar Kumar Bauri said #HitlerHemant was not merely a hashtag but symbolised the cruelty and brutality inflicted upon students by the Jharkhand government.
Late on Monday night, Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan said police would examine CCTV footage to identify anti-social elements who disrupted the students' protest.
According to Ranjan, 14 police personnel were injured during the demonstration. He said police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to bring protesters under control after they breached barricades, reached Gate No. 1 of the Legislative Assembly and staged a sit-in. Police subsequently resorted to a lathi-charge again.
Student leader Ravindra Paswan alleged that police chased students for nearly a kilometre and beat them brutally. Protesters alleged that several of their associates, including women, were injured in the police action.
Meanwhile, the health of Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JKLM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who had been on hunger strike for nine days, deteriorated while he was participating in the students' protest march on Monday. He was admitted to Sadar Hospital in Ranchi.
