Police officers gesture to protesters taking part in a demonstration demanding Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s resignation and a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged paper leaks in recruitment examinations, in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India on Monday. Photo by Jesh Kumar/EPA
Aug. 10 (UPI) — Police in Jharkhand, India used tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators who were demanding investigations into recruitment for government jobs on Monday.
Thousands of protesters were met with police wielding batons as they marched to the state legislature building. Protesters pushed past some police barricades and there were injuries on both sides.
The protest was sparked by allegations of irregularities in recruitment drives for government jobs. Protesters called for India’s Central Bureau of Investigations to probe the allegations.
Young adults in Jharkhand, the poorest state in India, have taken to the streets in an outcry over allegations that they are not being given a fair chance to compete for highly coveted government roles.
Demonstrators say there have been grading errors and financial irregularities in recruitment exams. They have also called for the cancellation of three recruitment exams, which the Jharkhand government agreed to on Sunday.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a political party in the state, also agreed to speed up the investigations that demonstrators asked for.
Government jobs are highly sought after in India. Recruitment for job listings can result in hundreds of thousands of applications for 500 to around 2,000 openings.
One recruitment push for 2,025 jobs received about 640,000 applications. Another drive for 510 jobs received 322,000 applications.
In May, India scrapped the results of its medical college-entrance exam, a test that requires students to spend years studying. The exam was scrapped after its question papers were leaked, which has happened multiple times throughout the country.
In July, protests erupted in the capital city New Delhi with demonstrators marching on Parliament and calling for the resignation of India’s top education chief. Law enforcement activity heightened as a result, leading to allegations of police brutality.