Cinema VinesActor Prakash Raj has voiced his outrage after police used tear gas and lathi charges to disperse a group of Jharkhand students marching toward the state legislature in Ranchi on Monday, August 10. The protest, organised by the JPSC‑JSSC Reform Manch, was aimed at demanding a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) exams.
Raj posted a video from the protest site on his X account, showing police firing tear gas shells and deploying lathi charges. In the caption he wrote, “Why … Why … Why 💔💔💔 . This brutality will not work anymore.. it will only bring the arrogant power down.” The footage captured the heavy‑handed response that left several demonstrators injured.
Students had been staging an indefinite sit‑in at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium since July 29, demanding a CBI probe and the cancellation of the 14th JPSC Combined Preliminary Test. They also called for an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, alleging large‑scale financial transactions linked to a recruitment scam. The JMM‑led government had instead entrusted the investigation to the CID, a move the protesters say is an attempt to “whitewash” the issue.
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, who has been on a nine‑day hunger strike, said the movement represents the concerns of millions of young people preparing for competitive examinations. He added, “Our future strategy depends on the government's decision. I said on day one itself: this voice is not just Devendra Nath Mahato's. It is the voice of those millions of youths whose futures depend on competitive examinations, those who seek to realise their dreams through books.”
Despite barricades of barbed wire, water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges, the demonstrators maintained that they had not raised any slogans against the government or used any political rhetoric. “The only flag present was the Tricolour,” Mahato said, underscoring the non‑political nature of their protest.
