Students in Jharkhand have been protesting for weeks over alleged examination “irregularities,” with several currently on hunger strike, Anadolu Agency reported.
On Monday, students and job aspirants began marching toward the legislative assembly complex but were stopped by security personnel, who used water cannons to block their advance.
The state government, led by a regional party opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has held several rounds of talks with student groups, but protesters are demanding an investigation by a federal agency.
The government said it had accepted 98% of the protesters’ demands.
One of the main demands by students and job aspirants is reform of the state’s recruitment agencies.
The protest in Jharkhand comes after weeks of nationwide demonstrations last month demanding the removal of India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged exam paper leaks and irregularities in the country’s education system.
The protests were led by the newly formed Cockroach Janta Party, a popular movement that emerged in response to controversial remarks by the country’s chief justice, who likened unemployed youths to cockroaches.
The Cockroach Janta Party said Monday that police continued to “investigate cases against some students who took part in the New Delhi protests in July despite a government agreement to withdraw legal action,” Bloomberg Television quoted party spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka as saying.