Job Aspirants Clash With Police During Jharkhand Assembly March

Thousands of job aspirants marched toward the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi on August 10, 2026, to protest alleged irregularities in recruitment exams conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. The protest, which entered its 17th day, escalated when demonstrators breached three-layer barricades, prompting Jharkhand Police to deploy water cannons and lathicharges to disperse the crowd.

Led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who joined the march in an ambulance after a nine-day hunger strike, the protesters demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and the cancellation of the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination. While the Government of Jharkhand claims to have accepted 98% of the students' demands, including a judicial inquiry and the cancellation of several exams, protesters argue that only three of 13 requested cancellations were granted.

Security forces deployed over 1,500 personnel and imposed prohibitory orders within a 750-metre radius of the Assembly and in Jamshedpur, leading to the closure of most schools in Ranchi. Simultaneously, the police detained Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi and state president Aditya Sahu, during a separate protest at Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence.