Ranchi: Over a week after students in Jharkhand started a protest at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, the state government Wednesday extended an olive branch to them, with Ranchi SDM Kumar Rajat and ADM Dhananjay Kumar inviting a five-member delegation for talks.
While the students are yet to announce their delegation, the bone of contention in the government seems to be the demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities, according to sources privy to the negotiations.
Among other things, the main demands of the protesters remain cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Civil Services Examination (JPSC CSE), a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities, and larger systemic reforms in recruitment exams conducted by the JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
The state government, on its part, has initiated an investigation by the Crime Investigation Department (CID), which has made 19 arrests in the matter so far.
However, while students don’t trust the CID to handle the probe owing to its investigation into similar allegations against a JSSC exam in 2024, Chief Minister Hemant Soren does not trust the CBI or Enforcement Directorate (ED) to step in owing to the declining trust in central investigative agencies, according to those in the know of developments, it is learnt.
Soren has had a turbulent past with central agencies. He was arrested by the ED in January 2024, in an alleged money laundering case. Before his arrest, he had tendered his resignation, paving the way for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Champai Soren, now with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to take over the top post later.
The case revolved around a group of private persons who, in connivance with government officials, allegedly ran a land-grabbing syndicate. Soren was granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court almost six months later in June, which said “there is ‘reason to believe’ that the petitioner is not guilty”.
In November 2023, the CBI had filed a case against Soren’s aide Pankaj Mishra, in connection with alleged illegal mining in Sahibganj district. Mishra was arrested by the ED in July 2022, after which a formal case was registered by the CBI in 2023.
Also Read: Forged documents, power broker & ‘illegal’ mining — what are the ED cases involving Hemant Soren
Why students don’t trust CID
The mistrust of students in the state authorities stems from past probes.
According to Upendra Kumar Anand, one of the core committee members of the protests, the distrust stems from the CID’s handling of the allegations of paper leak in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC CGL) examination.
More than 1,000 petitions were filed in the Jharkhand High Court in 2024, demanding a court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) or an independent central agency probe into the allegations of paper leak. The exam was first scheduled for 28 January, 2024, but was cancelled due to a paper leak. It was re-conducted in September 2024, but allegations of paper leak re-emerged.
However, in response to the petitions, the high court was informed that while the CID had conducted a detailed investigation into the allegations, it had found no evidence of a question paper leak.
The high court in December 2025 rejected the petitions, and allowed the JSSC to publish the examination results. It also directed the SIT to complete the investigation into other allegations in the case within six months.
“Why would we trust the CID? It often works under pressure of the state government. We’re not prejudiced against it…but the CID has shown itself that it is biased,” another organiser, Ankit Kumar, told ThePrint.
The ongoing protest in Ranchi began after the 14th JPSC CSE held in Jharkhand in April this year was mired in controversy due to allegations of irregularities.
In January this year, the JPSC had advertised 103 vacancies, including jobs for Deputy Superintendent of Police-rank. More than 36,000 students appeared for the preliminary examination held on 19 April, and 2,204 students qualified for the mains examination, according to the results published on 2 July.
Students demanded the publication of category-wise cut-off marks, and raised questions over the merit list as well, pointing out that the list did not have the signatures of the commission’s constitutional members. Post this, OMR sheets began doing the rounds on social media, showing students having allegedly qualified despite attempting only a limited number of questions.
Students then launched protest, demanding a CBI inquiry, besides structural reforms.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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