WATCH | 'Is this free India?': Devendra Mahto barred from Tiranga Yatra by Jharkhand police, friends 'brutally beaten'
Mahto said that the police stopped him from attending a peaceful Tiranga Yatra and flag hoisting at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the site of the JPSC-JSSC student protests
Mahto said that the police stopped him from attending a peaceful Tiranga Yatra and flag hoisting at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the site of the JPSC-JSSC student protests.
Mahto said that the police stopped him from attending a peaceful Tiranga Yatra and flag hoisting at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the site of the JPSC-JSSC student protests.
Mahto said that the police stopped him from attending a peaceful Tiranga Yatra and flag hoisting at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the site of the JPSC-JSSC student protests.
Jharkhand activist Devendra Nath Mahto, one of the key faces of the student protests against alleged issues with the JPSC-JSSC exams, has alleged that the police stopped him from joining the Tiranga Yatra on the country's 80th Independence Day.
He also alleged that the Jharkhand police had "brutally beaten" and "thrashed" his companions at the hospital, where he was admitted weeks earlier after his health declined amid a hunger strike in solidarity with the protest, which has reached 14 days.
The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader had said that he wanted to participate peacefully in the Tiranga Yatra and hoist the national flag at the student protest site—the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium—but was not allowed to leave from the Sadar Hospital.
Videos of the incident show the police pulling him back multiple times, and also hitting some JLKM activists trying to help Mahto out of the hospital. Officials can also be heard urging him to take rest.
In that regard, Mahto has now alleged that the scuffle with the police had caused him a chest injury as well, which has added to his other health issues.
"Is this the free India we gained from the sacrifices of Lord Birsa Munda and Bhagat Singh?" he questioned in an X post.
He then refused to go back to his hospital room, choosing instead to hold a small sit-down protest right outside his room.
"Until I'm allowed to leave from here, I'll keep sitting right here. I won't even get my treatment done, and I'll stay here to make my point," he said, dressed fully in white with a tricolour shawl and holding the Indian flag.
In an Independence Day speech earlier on Saturday, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren assured people that the hard work of job aspirants would not be left at the mercy of the paper leak mafia, corruption or irregularities.
He also promised huge employment opportunities via the state's recruitment agencies.
"Millions of young people in Jharkhand are working day and night to realise their dreams ... It is our utmost responsibility to honour their hard work and ensure justice for their talent," he said in the speech.