Jharkhand Government Cancels Exams, Orders Probe Into Recruitment Irregularities

Ranchi, , The Jharkhand government has announced the cancellation of examinations and government job recruitments following 24 days of protests by students in Ranchi over alleged irregularities in the recruitment and examination system. Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the action would cover the JPSC and JSSC CGL examinations and that irregularities dating back to 2014 would be investigated. However, the students have made it clear that the government's announcement alone will not end their agitation, as they continue to demand a CBI probe. “The results published by the TDPL (Lucknow-based TSR Data Processing Private Limited), and all the candidates selected by the TDPL, or who participated, and all the activities of the TDPL that have taken place here, all of them should be cancelled,” Soren told the students this evening. “All the mistakes, big or small, that have occurred since 2014 will be investigated. The CID will probe all exams held in Jharkhand since 2014,” Soren said. “We have decided to constitute a committee for reforms under the chairmanship of our IAS officer, Mr. Amitabh Kaushal,” he added. The cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination, in which question papers were leaked in 2024, has been one of the major demands of the protesting students. Student leader Ravindra Paswan said the protest would continue until the demand for a CBI investigation is accepted. “The demand for a CBI investigation has not yet been accepted, and until the demand for a CBI probe is met, we will continue our movement,” he said. “We have won a major battle, but there's still more to this... We want to thank the Chief Minister for finally hearing our demand after 24 days, but the question remains that until there is a CBI investigation, we will continue our hunger strike” he added. Meanwhile, student leader Devendra Nath Mahato, who is admitted to Sadar Hospital in Ranchi, is expected to call off his hunger strike soon, with ministers and MLAs visiting him. The government's decision came hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked Soren to meet the protesting students. In his August 14 letter to the Chief Minister, Gandhi said the 24-day protests had been “peaceful” and described the students' demands as “legitimate”. The government has now responded with cancellations and a wider investigation, but the students' continued insistence on a CBI probe means the issue remains unresolved. The next step will determine whether the government's measures can satisfy the protesters or whether the agitation will continue.