Ranchi: A protest march by student groups demanding cancellation and fresh conduct of two recruitment examinations was disrupted on Friday after a youth allegedly threw ink at All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora near Shalimar Bazaar.The march, organised by AISA and other Left-affiliated student organisations, began at Birsa Chowk and was scheduled to proceed towards the state assembly. The protesters are demanding cancellation and re-examination of the JPSC 14th Combined Civil Services Main Examination and the JSSC Combined Graduate Level Examination, citing alleged irregularities. They have also sought greater transparency and accountability in govt recruitment processes.As the procession reached Shalimar Bazaar, the youth allegedly threw ink at Bora from behind and shouted religious slogans, triggering a brief commotion among the participants. Police personnel deployed along the route intervened and detained him.Police identified the man as Amarnath Pandey, a resident of Hazaribag. Officials said he was being questioned and that his background, affiliations and motive were being verified. No formal police statement on the circumstances leading to the incident was available at the time of filing of the report.Following the disruption, the protesters halted their march and assembled near Mausi Bari roundabout instead of proceeding towards the assembly. Student leaders condemned the incident, alleging that it was an attempt to intimidate aspirants and weaken their continuing agitation over the examinations.Bora had arrived in Ranchi earlier in the day as part of a pre-announced programme. She subsequently visited Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to meet JPSC and JSSC aspirants who have been protesting there for the past 14 days.Addressing reporters, Bora alleged that the “BJP-RSS” had orchestrated the incident to target the students’ movement, a charge that could not be independently verified. “If the BJP supports the agitation, why was our march targeted?” she asked, alleging an attempt to intimidate those questioning the recruitment process.Bora also claimed that the detained man was a 26-year-old Hindi honours student at Vinoba Bhave University and was affiliated with the RSS. Police did not immediately confirm her claims.AISA state general secretary Triloki Nath said Bora had visited Jharkhand to support the aspirants, but “certain elements” wanted to curb the protesters’ voices. He also alleged that the BJP had opposed her programme from the outset.Former MLA Binod Singh condemned the incident and claimed that threats had been issued against Bora after she announced her Jharkhand visit. Bora reiterated the demand for fresh examinations and said AISA would continue supporting the agitation and participate in the aspirants’ proposed assembly march on Aug 10.
