An FIR was filed against 11 people — including a coaching teacher — following a clash during a protest in Ranchi this week against the Jharkhand High Court’s stay on the cancellation of several recruitment examinations and appointments.

The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch — one of the two factions spearheading recent protests over alleged recruitment exam irregularities — called a protest to burn effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in all 24 districts of Jharkhand on August 21. The protest was held a day after the high court stayed a state government order cancelling recruitments through the 11th to 13th JPSC Combined Civil Services, Food Safety Officers (FSO), the JSSC Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) and Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) exams.

According to a police FIR, the protesters clashed with some people allegedly linked with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. The JMM has denied any organisational involvement in the incident.

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In a statement recorded at Lower Bazar police, a man identified as 34-year-old Shahbaz Alam claims that around 7 pm, he and his friend Mohd Kaif saw people carrying banners, flags and an effigy and raising slogans against the government near Albert Ekka chowk.

Alam told police that he and Kaif approached the protesters and asked why they were raising anti-government slogans, and that he was abused, mauled, assaulted and chased by the mob.

Alam claimed a coaching teacher and three students — including two women — had instigated the mob, which swelled to 200-250 people, and that police rescued them from the melee.

But sources in the JPSC JSSC Reform Manch denied the allegation, alleging that the police and some people linked with the JMM tried to stop the march.

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“They came to us and started harassing us, snatching our effigies and posters. Police supported the group,” said one protester. The protester claimed women were mauled too.

“After we confronted them, police rained lathis on us. Some protesters, including the coaching centre teacher, were later forcibly discharged from the hospital,” the protester said.

For their part, police sources claimed the protesters changed the route midway, leading to traffic congestion. “When the protesters were asked to follow the rules, they started clashing with the common citizens…they were trying to lynch some men after that we were forced to take action,” one police officer said.

For its part, the JMM denied any involvement. “Those involved in the incident were workers from the Opposition party brought to provoke the agitation,” JMM spokesperson Mithlesh Thakur said. “The government had accepted all the students’ demands, except the demand for a CBI probe. After the High Court’s stay, students should respect the judicial process.”

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This comes days after students withdrew their nearly month-long agitation against alleged irregularities in state recruitment tests after the Soren government agreed to most of their demands and cancelled 21 recruitment exams. The Jharkhand HC decision comes in response to petitions from candidates aggrieved by the state government’s cancellation notification.