Prakash Raj condemns use of tear gas in Jharkhand student protest crackdown: 'This brutality will not work anymore

The protesters are demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities and comprehensive reforms.

Actor Prakash Raj has reacted to the use of force against protesting students marching towards the Jharkhand legislative assembly in Ranchi on Monday, August 10. As per news agency ANI, JPSC-JSSC aspirants remained defiant after police resorted to a lathi charge for the third time on Monday evening to disperse students protesting outside the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi.

What Prakash said

Actor Prakash Raj has reacted to the ongoing student protests in Jharkhand.

Prakash took to his X account and reposted a video allegedly taken from the protest site on Monday, which showed visuals where tear gas and lathi charge were used to disperse students. In the caption, the actor wrote, “Why .. Why .. Why 💔💔💔 . This brutality will not work anymore.. it will only bring the arrogant power down.”

The latest police action unfolded hours after a fresh clash between student protesters and police during the 'Vidhan Sabha Gherao' march. Authorities deployed tear gas shells, water cannons, and lathi charges as a large number of aspirants attempted to move toward the Assembly.

The protest was organized by the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch to protest examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). Demonstrators expressed outrage over the heavy-handed response, asserting their resolve to keep fighting.

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, who has been on hunger strike for nine days, said the movement represented the concerns of millions of young people preparing for competitive examinations.

"Our future strategy depends on the government's decision. I said on day one itself: this voice is not just Devendra Nath Mahato's. It is the voice of those millions of youths whose futures depend on competitive examinations, those who seek to realise their dreams through books," Mahato said.

He alleged that the administration had deployed multiple measures to stop the protesters.

"Attempts were made to stop us. Barricades of barbed wire were erected. Water cannons were used. Tear gas was deployed. Lathi charges were carried out, leaving people injured. Yet, we did not raise a single slogan against the government. We did not engage in any political rhetoric or utter a single obscene word. The only flag present was the Tricolour," he said.

About the student protests in Jharkhand

The protesters, who have been staging an indefinite sit-in at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here since July 29, alleged that the JMM-led government was attempting to "whitewash" the issue by entrusting the investigation to the CID.

They had earlier demanded an investigation by the CBI along with that of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), claiming large-scale financial transactions were linked to the alleged recruitment scam.

What are the demands?

The protesters are demanding cancellation of the 14th JPSC Combined Preliminary Test held on April 19 and an independent probe by central agencies, including the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED), into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the JPSC and JSSC.