Jharkhand bandh: BJP workers block Ratu Road in Ranchi against alleged police action on students

RANCHI: BJP workers blocked Ratu Road in Ranchi during the state-wide Jharkhand bandh on Tuesday amid the ongoing JPSC-JSSC protest in the state. Later, the police intervened to stop the BJP workers from blocking the road.

The BJP’s call for a shutdown follows Monday’s massive protest by JPSC and JSSC aspirants in Ranchi, which ended with a night of alleged police brutality and heavy lathicharge between students and security forces near the Legislative Assembly.

Union MoS Sanjay Seth asserted that the entire Jharkhand is “shut”. “Today, the entire Jharkhand is shut. The police committed brutality; there was a lathicharge, and tear gas was fired. Water cannons were used; daughters were beaten at night. Look at the Chief Minister’s insensitivity; he is thanking the police administration. You should have apologised to the children”, Seth said.

The students, who have gathered from all 24 districts of the state, are demanding the cancellation of the JSSC CGL examination and a high-level CBI inquiry into recurring paper leaks.

#WATCH | JPSC-JSSC aspirants’ protest in Ranchi | Jharkhand BJP has called for a statewide bandh today, protesting the police action against students during the JPSC-JSSC protest in Ranchi yesterday.

Visuals from Harmu Chowk, Ranchi pic.twitter.com/7UuH4OX1aF

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2026

Student leader Ravinder Pasawan stated that the march was peaceful until Monday evening, when the administration suddenly used force to remove students who were sitting outside the Assembly gate.

Detailing the incident, Pasawan said, “Yesterday was our Legislative Assembly march. We were there for a long time. In the end, the police administration removed us using force. There was no positive outcome regarding our demands. My belief was that if tens of thousands of students from all 24 districts of Jharkhand are gathering on the streets, the government should at least give some assurance or outcome. That is why we waited until 5:00 PM. When no result was provided, we decided to sit on the road outside the Assembly gate and protest peacefully until the government addressed us. Even if they had said nothing all night, we would have been here in the morning anyway.”

#WATCH | Delhi | BJP MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade says, “Congress should withdraw support from Jharkhand for the way atrocities are being committed against students in the state.” pic.twitter.com/zOlUTbegdm

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2026

“But suddenly, force was used. Some of our companions were injured. The administration did its job; before that, they were quite cooperative, but in the evening, they lost their cool. Many of our colleagues, including women students, were injured. It was also seen that media personnel were pushed and shoved. We remain firm on our demands. We appeal to the Honourable Chief Minister that we are all students; please accept our demands, as they are all logical. Our indefinite protest will continue until the Jharkhand government accepts them,” he added.

Jharkhand Police on Monday used lathis and water cannons to control the crowd during the ‘Vidhan Sabha gherao’ march by Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) aspirants in Ranchi over alleged irregularities in the JPSC and JSSC-Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examinations.

#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand: Police use lathi charge to disperse JPSC-JSSC aspirants who were protesting outside the State Assembly in Ranchi. pic.twitter.com/qz36WsmUi4

— ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2026

The protesting aspirants have been demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, a CBI probe into alleged irregularities, and reforms in the recruitment process. They have alleged that their demands have not been fully accepted by the state government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday observed a statewide “bandh” in Jharkhand protesting the alleged police brutality against student aspirants, a claim the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has dismissed as “sheer desperation.”

The BJP’s call for a shutdown follows Monday’s massive protest by JPSC and JSSC aspirants in Ranchi, which ended with a night of alleged police brutality and a heavy lathi charge between students and security forces near the Legislative Assembly.

Lashing out at the BJP’s move, JMM leader Manoj Pandey denied reports of a lathi-charge or the use of extreme measures against the students.

“There was no lathicharge. Only minimal force was used, strictly in self-defence, and there were no pellet guns or anything of that sort involved. This reaction stems from sheer desperation and unease. They are agitated because the police and administration handled the situation so effectively, and now they want to play politics,” Pandey claimed.

The JMM leader further alleged that the opposition is attempting to hijack a student-led issue for political mileage. “This is a students’ issue, and the students involved belong to all political parties. They are just barging in unnecessarily to grind their own political axes; let them make their announcements… I can state with confidence that it will be a total failure; no one is standing with them,” he remarked.

On the ground, however, BJP workers and leaders gathered at Harmu Chowk in Ranchi to protest against what they termed a “Black Day” for the state.

A BJP worker participating in the protests alleged that the state government had used house arrests to prevent leaders from supporting the students on Monday.

“Yesterday was a ‘Black Day.’ Today, the BJP has openly taken to the streets in protest. Yesterday, too, we set out to surround the CM’s residence for the sake of the students, while they were attempting to surround the Assembly; consequently, all our MLAs, representatives, and leaders were placed under house arrest at Hotwar until 8 PM,” he said.

“Today, fueled by the outrage over that incident, we are observing a vigorous shutdown; we will not allow any harm to come to the students,” he asserted.

However, a student from the protest earlier dismissed the ‘bandh’ as a political party’s own initiative. “We don’t want to comment on what any political party is doing. If a party has called for a ‘Bandh’, it is their own initiative. We are students, and our movement is active here. We will not comment on political matters,” he said.

This ‘bandh’ comes after Jharkhand Police on Monday used lathis and water cannons to control the crowd during the ‘Vidhan Sabha gherao’ march by Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) aspirants in Ranchi over alleged irregularities in the JPSC and JSSC-Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examinations.

The protesting aspirants have been demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, a CBI probe into alleged irregularities, and reforms in the recruitment process. They have alleged that their demands have not been fully accepted by the state government. (ANI)