Ranchi, Aug 13: Jharkhand students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations have demanded a CBI probe into the matter and cancellation of all examinations conducted by private agency TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), saying they have lost faith in the state CID investigation.
The agitation at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi entered its 20th day on Wednesday, with students maintaining that the government must take further steps despite accepting some of their demands.
Student movement core committee member Piyush Kumar said Chief Minister Hemant Soren had agreed to cancel the 14th JPSC preliminary examination as well as the 2023 and 2025 backlog examinations, but should go further.
“He should now go a step further and cancel the exams conducted by TDPL,” Kumar said.
The students have sought cancellation of the 11th-13th JPSC Civil Services examinations, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Forest Range Officer, Food Safety Officer, CDPO, Civil Judge, Jharkhand Eligibility Test for Assistant Professorship, regular and backlog Assistant Public Prosecutor examinations and the JSSC-CGL examination.
The protesters have alleged irregularities, including OMR sheet manipulation and question paper leaks, in examinations conducted by TDPL.
“Those who returned blank OMR sheets were declared successful in the exams. Now, how can we believe that the exams conducted by the TDPL were fair?” Kumar said.
Student leader Ravindra Paswan said the protesters no longer had confidence in the CID and wanted the alleged irregularities to be investigated by the CBI.
“We do not trust the CID anymore,” Paswan said, adding, “Only the CBI can investigate this.”
Referring to the JSSC-CGL controversy, Paswan claimed that the CID case diary mentions that a question paper was found in Nepal. He alleged that state investigating agencies had concealed evidence during earlier legal proceedings.
The state government, however, has maintained that putting pressure on it to cancel examinations is inappropriate and that such a move is “legally not feasible”.
The students also criticised the handling of the August 10 march towards the state Assembly, during which tensions escalated between protesters and security personnel.
“There was no need for a lathi charge,” Paswan said, while adding that the students’ forum had itself urged the government to take action against those who attempted to create disturbances.
Paswan also rejected allegations that the student movement had been hijacked by political parties. He accused both the ruling party and the Opposition of attempting to derive political gains from the agitation.
“Why is the ruling party or the Chief Minister repeatedly claiming that the BJP hijacked the movement? Only students were involved in the Assembly siege,” he said.
Paswan said the core committee had not invited BJP leaders to the protest site and claimed that administration officials who visited the stadium later spoke to students without consulting the core committee.
“We wanted to show that we are not involved in politics, so we formed our own separate forum,” he said.
The protesters also urged the Chief Minister to hold talks with them, saying they did not want the agitation to continue indefinitely.
“Independence Day is in a few days. If students stay on the streets on that day, it won’t send out a good message. The Chief Minister should hold talks with the students,” Paswan said.
Kumar alleged that there was an attempt to weaken the agitation but said the students remained firm on their demands.
“There is definitely a conspiracy to weaken the movement. But the students are steadfast in their demands,” he said.
He also raised allegations concerning an individual identified as Abhay Tiwari, claiming he was involved in a job scam, had secured a direct rank in CGL and had appeared in several other recruitment examinations. Kumar demanded that these examinations also be investigated.
The students further appealed to Soren to provide them with moral support and acknowledge their grievances.
“First and foremost, the Chief Minister should offer us moral support. He should tell us that the students’ demands are justified,” Kumar said.
The student agitation remains focused on demands for greater transparency in recruitment examinations, cancellation of allegedly tainted tests and an independent investigation into suspected irregularities.
