Ranchi Protests: Tyres Burned, Roads Blocked Over Student Crackdown; Protesters Detained

Ranchi: The BJP, which had declared a nationwide strike on Tuesday, burned tyres and blocked roads in several spots in Ranchi on Tuesday to protest against the police action against students during their march to the state Assembly on Monday. A number of protesters were also arrested as they attempted to march from old Assembly building to the new Assembly premises.

What did the police say?

BJP workers blocked the roads in and around CMPDI gate in Kanke Road, Kishorganj, Argora and Kanke areas preventing traffic and disturbing the normal life, police said. Police said the tyres were lit on fire in and around the CMPDI gate in Kanke Road and in the areas of Kishorganj, Argora and Kanke, disrupting the traffic. Scuffle between the police and BJP workers was also spotted in visuals from protest locations.

Did the police detain protestors?

Police started detaining Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers during the march from the old Assembly building to the new Assembly premises, as the bandh started gathering pace. When police attempted to take the protesters in buses, they sat down on the ground and shouted slogans, after which they were surrounded by police and taken in police vans.

In the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand, BJP activists had blocked the Ramgarh-Patna highway (NH-33). Hundreds of BJP workers gathered at 4 am early in the morning on the four-lane highway where they sat on the highway and raised slogans against the government of Hemant Soren.

Did protesters impede road?

The road was closed for approximately three hours, causing a long line of cars on both sides of the street. Soon the blockade was cleared after the intervention of Kuju police and the bandh supporters were also detained from there.

The boycott, led by the Jharkhand BJP, has been called for from 8 am to midnight, a day after police used batons and used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protestors, which continued to march towards the Assembly.

BJP state president Aditya Sahu termed the incident as "atrocities" committed upon students and alleged that the JMM-led government resorted to force rather than addressing their grievances.

Most of the schools and businesses were closed, and traffic was limited today in Ranchi and other areas of the state. The bandh was not to be against essential services, Sahu stated.

What is the reason of protest?

In recent weeks, the students' protest against alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the JPSC and JSSC exams has been on the rise. Thousands of aspirants walked towards the Assembly on Monday, overran several of the barricades and had encounters with police.

Devendra Nath Mahto, who had been on a hunger strike for nine days, was taken away on a stretcher to hospital. The condition is now stabilised and he is not in danger, Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari's office said.

According to several protesters, they were injured while police in Ranchi claimed that 14 of its officers were injured in the clashes. As the protesters made their way to the Assembly, police deployed water cannons near the Jagannathpur Temple. Police fired water cannons as the protesters marched towards the Assembly.