Archive · 10 Aug 2026
Pushpa-Clad Protester Joins Jharkhand Students' Assembly March in Ranchi
Students in Ranchi, a city in India, held a big protest.
They are upset about tests people take to get government jobs.
They believe something went wrong with these tests.
Thousands marched toward the government building, called the Assembly.
Police set up fences and stood guard.
When some students pushed past a fence, police used sticks to push them back.
One student dressed up as Pushpa, a famous Indian movie character.
Another student dressed as Spider-Man to get attention.
The government said it already agreed to almost all of the students' requests.
But the students still want the exam cancelled and a special police investigation, so they will keep protesting.
A protester dressed as the film character Pushpa joined a student march toward the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi, saying students will not bow or stop until they get justice.
Thousands of students and job aspirants marched from the Old Vidhan Sabha toward the Assembly over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
Students demand cancellation of the JSSC Combined Graduate Level examination and a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities.
The Jharkhand government says it agreed to 98% of demands but refused to cancel the JSSC CGL exam or order a CBI probe, suggesting a possible Enforcement Directorate investigation.
Police used lathis after protesters breached a barricade; another protester dressed as Spider-Man, and hunger-striking leader Devendra Nath Mahato joined carrying a photograph of the late Shibu Soren.
- Who
- Students and job aspirants in Jharkhand, including hunger-striking leader Devendra Nath Mahato, along with the Jharkhand government and police in Ranchi.
- What
- A protest march and Vidhan Sabha Gherao over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, featuring costumed demonstrators including a 'Pushpa' lookalike.
- When
- Monday, August 10, 2026; the agitation has been running for more than two weeks.
- Where
- Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, from the Old Vidhan Sabha toward the Jharkhand Assembly.
- Why
- Students demand cancellation of the JSSC Combined Graduate Level examination and a CBI investigation into alleged recruitment exam irregularities.
Protesting students
Jharkhand government
Cancelling the JSSC CGL exam
Protesting students
Students demand cancellation of the JSSC Combined Graduate Level examination and a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in recruitment exams.
Jharkhand government
The government declined to cancel the JSSC CGL exam or order a CBI probe, saying it has agreed to 98% of demands and floated the possibility of an Enforcement Directorate investigation.
Handling of the protest
Protesting students
Students say they are demonstrating peacefully and that peaceful protest is their right, and allege police stopped aspirants traveling to Ranchi.
Jharkhand government
Police say students would not be allowed beyond a designated point and that force would not be used up to that point; they used lathis only after the first barricade was breached.
- Location
- Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
- Agencies involved
- Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC)
- Key student demands
- Cancellation of JSSC CGL exam; CBI investigation into alleged irregularities
- Government response
- Agreed to 98% of demands; refused CGL cancellation and CBI probe
- Possible ED probe
- 14th JPSC Combined Civil Services Examination
- March details
- Nearly 3 km from Old Vidhan Sabha; stopped about 1.5 km from Assembly
- Security measures
- Prohibitory orders within 750-metre radius of Assembly, August 6-12, 6 am-10 pm
- Police action
- Lathi charge after first heavy barricade was breached; tear-gas arrangements made