Student protest leader Devendra Nath Mahto was admitted to a hospital in the eastern state of Jharkhand after taking part in a march to the state legislature on Monday while on a nine-day hunger strike.

Police used tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse the crowd of students marching toward the state assembly on Monday in state capital Ranchi. 

The students are alleging irregularities in government recruitment exams.

Mahto said his health deteriorated after police used batons to disperse protesters outside the Legislative Assembly. 

“At present, my treatment continues under the supervision of doctors,” he wrote on X.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke also alleged that Mahto was injured by police batons and was experiencing chest pain.

“Be it Jantar Mantar or Jharkhand, such police brutality against students is cruel and inhuman,” Dipke wrote on X, alluding to the last month’s student protests that forced India’s education minister to resign.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Hemant Soren-led government of using excessive force, alleging hundreds of students were injured, and called a statewide shutdown on Tuesday.

Earlier on Sunday, the sixth round of talks between student protesters and the government failed to reach a breakthrough following which the protesters announced a march to the state Assembly.

Tamil Nadu calls to scrap NEET

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s state legislature on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the central government to scrap the nationwide medical college entrance examination, media reports said.

Health Minister K G Arunraj said the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam undermined social justice and disadvantaged rural and poorer students by increasing reliance on costly coaching centres, according to the reports.

The Tamil Nadu government instead proposed admissions for medical colleges based on students’ grades in Class 12.

The motion was supported by all parties, with the lone lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walking out during the proceedings, reports said.

The NEET exam has been in the news in India since the CJP launched a protest following the cancellation of the test in May, after authorities found its question paper was leaked. 

The cancellation of the highly competitive NEET exam sparked outrage across the country.

The CJP protests, which started in New Delhi and then spread across the country, forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month.

DW