Three separate FIRs have been registered against protesting students of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch in connection with Friday's clash between police and job aspirants in Ranchi, while another case has been filed against 700 people in neighbouring Hazaribagh, officials said.
The Ranchi cases were registered at the Kotwali police station in connection with a clash that broke out when protesting students marched towards Albert Ekka Chowk to burn effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The students had alleged that the state government misled them into ending an earlier protest by promising to address their demands. During Friday's procession, a clash broke out between the protesters and JMM workers, with students alleging that they were chased and beaten with bamboo sticks.
The three FIRs in Ranchi were based on complaints filed by individuals Ankita Verma and Shahbaz, as well as a complaint lodged by a magistrate, Ranchi City SP Paras Rana said.
“Three separate FIRs were registered at the Kotwali police station based on these complaints. Additionally, a magistrate also lodged an FIR regarding the sequence of events,” Rana said.
A total of 14 people have been named as accused in the three FIRs, while around 200 unidentified people have also been booked, he said.
The named accused include Kunal Kumar, Piyush Kumar Singh, Ravindra Paswan, Chandi Tiwari, Chittaranjan Kumar, Saurav, Virendra Pratap and Sumit Sharma.
Police said the cases relate to allegations of obstructing government work, violating the prescribed route for the procession and clashing with police. They have launched an investigation into the roles of both named and unidentified accused.
“Efforts are being made to understand the entire sequence of events by questioning people present at the scene and analysing available evidence. The police have also obtained video footage of the incident, and further action will be taken based on it,” a police official said.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders alleged that Amisha Prasad, who runs an NGO, was detained by police and taken to the Kotwali police station for participating in Friday's agitation.
Jharkhand Assembly Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, Ranchi Mayor Roshni Khalkho, BJP MLA C P Singh and others reached the police station and remained there for around three hours.
“It is an example of hooliganism by Jharkhand Police. The manner in which police detained the woman clearly indicates she was tortured. The government is trying to suppress individuals' voices. But this government should know that the more you try to suppress voices, the louder they become,” Marandi said.
Marandi also alleged that the manner in which “Jharkhand government's goons” and JMM workers behaved with protesting students during Friday's effigy-burning procession would not be tolerated.
“If any case was previously registered against the woman, police should have served her notice rather than detaining and bringing her to the police station after she participated in the agitation. Police are lodging cases and detaining protesters who are fighting for their legitimate rights while safeguarding the JMM workers,” he alleged.
A police official, however, said Prasad was not detained in connection with Friday's clash.
“We brought her to the police station in connection with a case lodged against her at the Sadar police station about two months ago,” he said.
A similar clash was reported in Hazaribagh's Matwari area on Friday, where students had also gathered as part of the statewide protest.
An FIR has been registered at Korra police station against 700 people, comprising 200 named and 500 unidentified accused, in connection with the incident, police said.
“An FIR has been filed at the Korra police station against 700 people, comprising 200 named individuals and 500 unidentified ones,” Korra police station in-charge Nemdhari Rajak said.
Police have initiated action into the clash involving students, JMM workers and police at Matwari Ground.
The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch had called for protests in all 24 districts of Jharkhand on August 21, with demonstrators planning to burn effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The protests came a day after the Jharkhand High Court stayed notifications cancelling appointments made through the 11th and 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Combined Civil Services examinations, the Food Safety Officer examination, the JSSC Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination and the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) examination.
Student leaders have accused the state government of “deceiving” and “betraying” job aspirants following the court's interventions and have renewed their demand for action on alleged irregularities in the recruitment examinations.
(With inputs from PTI)
