Ranchi: Security around chief minister Hemant Soren’s residence on Kanke Road has been stepped up ahead of Independence Day and amid protests by JPSC and JSSC aspirants.The move comes days after BJP MLAs gheraoed the CM’s residence on Aug 10 over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).Police have erected multiple layers of barricades around the high-security zone and restricted vehicular movement to prevent any untoward incident.The restrictions caused inconvenience to commuters on Wednesday, with traffic diversions leading to congestion during peak hours. Vehicles from Morabadi and Kutchery Chowk were diverted near Audrey House through Sidho Kanho Park to reach Kanke Road. Vehicles travelling from Kanke Road towards Morabadi and Kutchery Chowk were also diverted along the same route.“I had to spend nearly half an hour covering barely a kilometre between Kutchery and Kanke Road on Wednesday,” commuter Tejpal Singh said.SP (traffic) Rakesh Singh told TOI, “Traffic personnel will be deployed along the alternative routes to ensure smooth vehicular movement and minimise inconvenience to commuters.”He, however, did not specify when the diversions and restrictions would be lifted.Additional armed police personnel have also been deployed in and around the CM’s residence. Officials declined to disclose the strength of the force, citing security reasons.The security measures come amid indications that protesting job aspirants may attempt to gherao the CM’s residence on Aug 16. The aspirants have been demanding a CBI probe into the alleged recruitment exam irregularities and cancellation of the JSSC-CGL 2024 examination. However, no official announcement of the proposed protest has been made yet.
