Ranchi: The Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government has agreed to several key demands of protesting students, including a probe into alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations dating back to 2014.
The announcement came on Monday, when the students’ protest entered its 24th day. The agitation has focused on irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), including the controversial JSSC-CGL examination whose question paper was allegedly leaked in 2024.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the government would investigate “all the mistakes, big or small” that have occurred since 2014. He announced that the Jharkhand CID would probe examinations conducted in the state during this period.
The government also announced the formation of a committee headed by IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to recommend reforms to the recruitment examination system. Soren further said that results and selections associated with Lucknow-based TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), along with its activities in Jharkhand, would be cancelled.
While the announcements represent a significant movement on the students’ demands, protesters said the government had still not addressed their central demand for an independent CBI investigation.
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, who has been on hunger strike and is currently admitted to Sadar Hospital in Ranchi, may call off his fast, sources indicated. Ministers and MLAs have reportedly been visiting him at the hospital.
The government’s decision also came shortly after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Soren on August 14, urging him to meet the protesting students. Gandhi had described their protest as peaceful and their demands as legitimate, while expressing support for students protesting examination irregularities and alleged paper leaks.
For the protesting students, however, the immediate issue remains accountability and confidence in the recruitment system.
