India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) – which is not a political party – called off its five-week-long protest on 25 July after education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
The CJP had attracted support from students based in different states of the country.
Meanwhile in Ranchi, visuals from the state capital show thousands of protesters, police as well as media personnel on the streets, amid tightened security arrangements.
Despite police efforts to disperse them, large crowds remain at the site.
Protesters in Jharkhand have been gathered at a stadium in Ranchi since 25 July – some have been sleeping in the open and several have gone on hunger strike.
Even after multiple rounds of talks and the government accepting several demands, protesters say the agitation will continue until all their demands are met.
The immediate cause of the anger is a preliminary civil service exam held by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) in April.
After the results were announced in July, candidates alleged that leaked answer sheets shared on social media showed some successful applicants had answered far fewer questions than expected.
This fuelled suspicions that the results had been manipulated.
The state government has assured students that they will get justice. The allegations around the exam are being investigated by Jharkhand’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). More than a dozen people have been arrested.
Investigators are also examining the role of a private company that conducted parts of the exam process after candidates raised questions about how it was selected.
After talks with protesters on Sunday, the government agreed to cancel the exam in question, along with two others. Three JPSC members also reportedly resigned.
This came after JPSC chairman L Khiangte stepped down on 22 July. He was questioned in the investigation and arrested on Monday.
But protesters say several demands remain unmet, chief among them an investigation into the irregularities by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s premier federal investigative agency.
