Jharkhand students protest: 'Hemu Chacha' birthday cake, Spider-Man join Assembly march; former JPSC chairman arrested

Thousands of JPSC and JSSC aspirants marched towards the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi on Monday as a 17-day student agitation over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations intensified, with police using water cannons, tear gas and lathicharge after protesters breached multiple barricades.

The protesters, marching under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reform Morcha as part of a Vidhan Sabha Gherao, gathered at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium before beginning their march towards the Assembly. Police had erected barricades along the route to prevent the protesters from reaching the Assembly premises.

The students are demanding the cancellation of certain examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), besides seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities.

The agitation has also brought wider concerns over recruitment procedures, examination delays and vacancies in the state to the forefront.

As the protesters moved closer to the Assembly, they breached several barricades, following which security personnel deployed water cannons and later resorted to lathicharge and tear gas. Some protesters were reportedly injured.

Despite the police action, several students continued to dance and raise slogans as powerful jets of water were directed towards the crowd. In one striking moment, a protester climbed onto a police barricade and danced while security personnel continued using water cannons to push the protesters back.

Several protesters were seen wearing T-shirts marked "VOLUNTEER" as they took part in the march.

Devendra Nath Mahto joins march on stretcher

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike, also joined the demonstration despite his deteriorating health.

Mahto travelled to the protest site in an ambulance and was later carried on a stretcher by supporters as the march continued.

His participation has added further visibility to the agitation, with student leaders maintaining that the protest will continue until their demands are addressed and concrete action is taken against those responsible for alleged examination irregularities.

Students use Gen Z-style protests

Amid the tense situation outside the Assembly, protesting students adopted several unique Gen Z-style forms of protest, with visuals of a sarcastic birthday celebration for Chief Minister Hemant Soren and a protester dressed as Spider-Man drawing attention.

A group of students organised a cake-cutting ceremony near the Assembly gates to mark Soren's birthday. The celebration was presented as a sarcastic form of protest and was linked to the students' demands.

"Today is our Hemu Chacha's birthday, so we will celebrate his birthday. Since he is hiding, we will celebrate his happiness and birthday here. In return gift, we demand the cancellation of all the exams which faced irregularities, CBI probe and fulfilment of our other demands," a protesting student said.

Another student arrived dressed as Spider-Man and said the costume was part of what he described as a Gen Z style of demonstrating against the government.

"Since we are Gen Z, our way of protesting is a little different. That is why I have perhaps come here dressed as Spider-Man today. Perhaps our voice is not reaching the government properly. We have protested peacefully so far. We will also make every effort here to continue our protest peacefully and get our demands fulfilled," the student told IANS.

During the march, another student took a sarcastic jibe at the state government by referring to 'Hariya', a traditional tribal drink, and said that if the government wanted to sell something, it should sell the local beverage rather than examination papers.

Holding a placard that read 'Hariya becho, exam nahi', the student told IANS, "Hariyaa (a traditional rice-based fermented drink) is a major product of our state, and we offer it to our God. It is also a source of income for our tribal brothers. So, if you sell Hariyaa, they will earn an income. If you want to sell something, sell this, but please don't sell our exams or our future."

The students have maintained that their agitation is aimed at seeking greater transparency, accountability and fairness in the recruitment process.

Former JPSC chairman L Khiangte arrested

The escalating protest also coincided with a major development in the investigation into alleged irregularities and a merit scam in the JPSC's 14th Civil Services Preliminary Examination, with the state police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arresting former JPSC Chairman L. Khiangte on Monday.

According to the CID, Khiangte's alleged involvement emerged in connection with suspected bribery and violation of established procedures while awarding an examination contract to TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), an outsourcing agency that had previously been blacklisted.

Investigators alleged that the contract was awarded to TDPL by bypassing prescribed rules and procedures.

TDPL, a Lucknow-based company, was blacklisted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) in May 2025 over allegations of irregularities. Despite the blacklisting, the company allegedly continued to receive contracts for conducting examinations, including those of the JPSC.

The CID said Abhay Tiwari, marketing manager of TDPL, who was earlier arrested in the case, disclosed during interrogation that Khiangte allegedly accepted a bribe of around Rs 2 crore from the company in exchange for awarding the contract. Tiwari further alleged that Khiangte received a commission amounting to 20 per cent of the total contract value.

Before his arrest, the CID questioned Khiangte for more than 30 hours across four separate interrogation sessions. During the investigation, officials also found that the then Controller of Examinations had submitted a written objection to the decision to award the contract to TDPL.

According to investigators, the Controller had informed senior Commission officials about the agency's past record and specifically highlighted that the JSSC had blacklisted and de-listed TDPL on May 20, 2025.

Despite these concerns, the contract was allegedly awarded to the company on a nomination basis rather than through an open tender process.

During questioning, Khiangte reportedly defended himself by claiming that the Commission was unaware of TDPL's blacklisted status when the contract was awarded and attributed the lapse to an administrative oversight. The CID, however, continued its probe into his alleged role in the matter.

Earlier, the agency conducted raids at Khiangte's official residence on Kanke Road and at the JPSC office, seizing documents and electronic devices as part of the investigation.

With Khiangte's arrest, the CID has now arrested 19 accused in the case. Those arrested include JPSC Deputy Controller of Examinations Shweta Kumari Gupta, TDPL Director Ramvir Singh, Abhay Tiwari and the former chairman's computer operator, among others.

The CID has also sealed TDPL's offices in Ranchi and Lucknow.

The investigating agency is continuing its probe to identify other officials and individuals allegedly linked to the examination irregularities and the suspected parallel syndicate behind the scam.

Meanwhile, students have vowed to continue their agitation until their demands are addressed, even as the arrest of the former JPSC chairman and the police action during Monday's Assembly march have further intensified the focus on the recruitment examination controversy in Jharkhand.