Delays, paper leaks and years of waiting: Jharkhand protesters tell what's really behind hunger strike

Six protesters have been holding a hunger strike for about seven days to protest alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations.

Meanwhile, thousands of students and job aspirants have gathered at Ranchi's Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to support their cause and seek reforms in the recruitment examination system. They are demanding the cancellation of the 14th JPSC and JSSC-CGL examinations.

But what's really behind this hunger strike? The Indian Express interviewed protesters to understand what prompted them to sit on an indefinite hunger strike. The protesters spoke about how they dealt with irregularities in recruitment exams and struggled to secure a government job, only to find it all in vain.

One such case was of 40-year-old Rahul Kranti. He shared how repeated delays in conducting the JPSC examination pushed him beyond the prescribed age limit. Kranti is now one of the six protesters who have been on a hunger strike as part of a demonstration in Jharkhand.

‘Age eligibility becomes a barrier’

Twenty seven-year-old Unne Habiba, another protester continuing the indefinite hunger strike on the ground, also spoke about how frequent holdups in the recruitment process turned age eligibility into a barrier.

Hailing from Bokaro, Unne Habiba said she completed a BA in English in 2019. She told the Indian Express that she was among the top performers in her college and also figured among the district’s top 10 students.

While she was in her first year of college in 2017, Habiba began preparing for the Panchayat Secretary recruitment, for which the required qualification was Class 12. “I cleared the examination,” she was quoted as saying.

But the recruitment process dragged on.

By the time it progressed, Habiba said she found that she was just a day short of the age eligibility for two posts, including the Lower Division Clerk post.

“I had cleared the examination and had also cleared the Hindi typing test required for the LDC post,” she told the Indian Express.

She claimed the 2017 recruitment had 3,088 vacancies across five posts. She said she scored 349 marks against a cut-off of around 322, but the delay in completing the recruitment process turned age eligibility into a barrier.

“Two lists have been released, while I have been waiting for the third for around three years. After all these scams and corruption, I am not sure if my name will appear in the last list,” she said.

She later moved on to other competitive examinations. Habiba began preparing for the JPSC exam in 2021 and had appeared in several exams, including the 14th JPSC.

Rahul Kranti, who also claimed that he faced age-related limitations during the recruitment process, became the lead petitioner in a high court case seeking age relaxation for candidates. This February, the court ruled in favour of 264 petitioners, including Kranti.

Kranti's battle with recruitment delays

Kranti holds a postgraduate degree in Geography and a Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Development from IGNOU. He also earned a B.Ed, hoping to secure a government teaching job.

In 2016, Kranti, a father of a six-year-old girl, cleared the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission’s Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) examination.

He told the Indian Express that he scored 20 marks more than the last selected candidate in the OBC category, yet never received an appointment.

Kranti then appealed in the Jharkhand High Court along with several other candidates.

“In November 2025, the court directed the government to appoint the remaining candidates within six months, but the state challenged the order before a division bench. Six months after the judgment, when appointments were still not made, I filed a contempt petition in June, which remains pending,” he told the outlet.

The delays did not stop there. Kranti also qualified for the 2024 Assistant Acharya recruitment examination. He alleged that the appointments have been issued in phases rather than filling all 26,001 advertised vacancies at once.

“Only around 11,500 appointment letters have been distributed so far, while thousands of vacancies remain unfilled,” Kranti claimed.

Another similar suffering is that of Rupesh Kumar Pal.

Pal's result was 'not declared'

Pal, a 30-year-old from Garhwa, spent years preparing for government jobs. It was the JSSC CGL recruitment that landed him in a legal battle with the state recruitment system.

Notably, the JSSC CGL examination advertised in 2016 was held in 2024 after repeated delays over allegations of irregularities.

Pal, who holds a Master's degree in English and Political Science, said he performed well and scored around 83 per cent, but his result was not declared. He claimed candidates who scored lower were eventually selected.

He later approached the Jharkhand High Court in September 2025, with more than 100 candidates joining the challenge.

“After the 2024 examination, everyone alleged that the paper had been leaked. Students approached the commission and submitted material and evidence. The commission initially denied the allegation,” he claimed.

After an FIR was filed in Ranchi, students approached the court, leading to the formation of an SIT. “The first CID team found evidence supporting the allegation,” he claimed.

He also alleged that late last year, the government rejected the findings of the first investigation team and constituted another team whose conclusions differed from those of the first. The matter remains before the high court.

“In the last hearing from last year, the court dismissed the demand to hand over the case to the CBI,” he said.

Pal claimed that the 2024 JSSC CGL recruitment had grown from an initial advertisement of around 800 posts to more than 2,000. He said around 1,800 candidates have been appointed, while several hundred posts remain vacant.

Meanwhile, Ranchi resident Savita Kumari said a series of setbacks led her to protest against the system for the first time.

'11 candidates died...'

Savita told the Indian Express that she began preparing for competitive examinations, hoping to secure a job and improve her family’s financial condition.

Since then, she has appeared for the JSSC CGL examination twice, the municipal recruitment examination, the Excise Constable recruitment and the JPSC examination, the report stated.

It was the Jharkhand Excise Constable recruitment exam that mounted her troubles. She said the exam was notified as the Jharkhand Excise Constable Competitive Examination (JECCE) 2023, but the process stretched on for years.

During physical tests held in August 2024, 11 candidates died while undertaking the running test at different centres across the state, the report added.

Savita, however, cleared the physical test but continued to wait for the written examination, which was finally held in April 2026.

But another controversy awaited. Police reportedly raided an under-construction building in Rargaon, where 159 candidates, including the alleged masterminds, were detained hours before the examination.