Nagpur: Holding a photograph of her daughter Akanksha, who died by suicide weeks after the NEET-UG examination was cancelled over paper leak controversy, Neelam Chaturvedi on Friday joined hundreds of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protesters at Samvidhan Square, demanding justice and compensation for families of students like Akanksha.Chaturvedi also sought the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “The children who died cannot be brought back,” she told the gathering while recounting the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death.Nearly 500 protesters joined CJP’s protest, a day after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his hunger strike following an assurance from central govt.Akanksha, a native of Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district, was preparing for NEET at a coaching institute in Nagpur. A week after the May 3 examination was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak, she was found hanging at her family’s home here on May 20, according to police.The peaceful sit-in at Samvidhan Square saw protesters raising slogans, reciting poetry and singing shayari while demanding accountability over the alleged examination irregularities. Several CJP members who had returned from the agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar also narrated their experiences before the gathering.In the evening, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Congress’ student wing, organised a candle march from Ram Nagar Square to Laxmi Bhuvan Square. Nearly 400 people participated in the candle march, including children as young as 12 to 14 years, who led from the front carrying candles and placards. The candle march severely disrupted traffic on adjacent roads.Nagpur city Congress chief Prafulla Gudadhe Patil briefly addressed the gathering. At Laxmi Bhuvan Square, protesters staged a sit-in, raised slogans and observed a moment of silence for students who allegedly died by suicide. Candles were lit in front of photographs bearing names and blank faces of deceased students.Additional commissioner of police Vinita Sahu said the candle march remained peaceful and the police teams were deployed to avoid any untoward incident.Social worker Yash Gourkhede said that citizens would begin a peaceful protest. “We have applied for all necessary permissions. It will be a people-led protest, and anyone is welcome to join,” he said.CJP sources, however, said their core committee had called a meeting, after which it would decide the future course of the agitation.(Inputs by Rose Bachwani, Bhavyea Badjatte, Arya Pawar, Ariba Imran, & Sophie Hocquet)
