Ranchi: Devendranath Mahto, dubbed Jharkhand’s ‘Sonam Wangchuk’, after starting his hunger strike over the alleged irregularities in the exams conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), has written to Ranchi civil surgeon (CS) seeking permission to join the ongoing protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, where students have been protesting for the past 20 days.Devendra, who was admitted to Ranchi Sadar Hospital on Aug 10, wrote the letter to the CS on Wednesday. He has been on hunger strike for the past 11 days.Speaking to TOI on Thursday in a faint voice from his hospital bed, Mahto said, “I am here, but my soul is at the protest site. Staying in the hospital away from the site is causing me immense mental pain. I wrote the letter seeking permission to go to the protest site to join the protest.”He said he had not received any response to the letter till Thursday. Mahto further alleged that he was lathi-charged and mishandled by police during Monday’s Vidhan Sabha march. “My condition deteriorated after that, and I was brought to Sadar,” he claimed.The hunger strike has now emerged as the focal point of the agitation against alleged recruitment irregularities and delays in state examinations. Four hunger strikers, including Mahto, Rahul Kranti, Krishna Mahto, Umme Habiba and Shivam Singh Parihar, are undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital while continuing their fast. They are lodged in an ICU ward under police security.The protest, however, extends beyond those admitted to hospital. At the stadium, aspirants such as Rupesh Kumar Pal, Sabita Kumari, Prem Nayak and Kush Mahato continue the agitation despite deteriorating health conditions.For Rupesh Kumar Pal, 30, of Garhwa, the struggle spans nearly a decade. Preparing for competitive examinations since 2017 and focusing on JPSC since 2021, he has appeared in multiple recruitment tests, including the 14th JPSC preliminary examination. Coming from a farming family with four elder sisters, Rupesh said years of preparation and uncertainty over recruitment have pushed him to join the fast.Sabita Kumari, 28, has spent much of her twenties preparing for government jobs. Having appeared in JPSC, JSSC-CGL, excise and municipal recruitment examinations, she said the movement is also tied to her family’s battle against poverty. Her father is a seasonal vegetable farmer, while her mother died in 2018.Amid the continuing stalemate, ministers Irfan Ansari, Shilpi Neha Tirkey and Congress MLA Rajesh Kacchap have been visiting the protesters at the hospital. According to the hunger strikers, the ministers hinted at a possible “middle path” and direct talks with chief minister Hemant Soren.Rahul Kranti, on a nine-day fast, said it was unfortunate that the CM had not met the aspirants personally. Umme Habiba said Tirkey appealed to them to end the strike but asserted that they would continue until their demands were met.The protesters are demanding cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in JPSC and other recruitment examinations. While security has been tightened around the chief minister’s residence ahead of Independence Day, agitators said they are not planning an immediate gherao and are instead seeking a direct audience with the CM. As the agitation entered its 20th day on Thursday, the deadlock showed little sign of ending.
