BJP workers clash with police during protest march in Ranchi, several injured
Hindustan TimesBharatiya Janata Party ’s protest march on the roads around the Morhabadi ground in Ranchi turned violent on Friday as the police lathi-charged, fired tear gas shells, and used water cannons to stop the party workers trying to march towards the chief minister Hemant Soren’s residence, leaving several from both sides injured, people close to the matter said. The BJP workers, led by their top leaders, had gathered at Morhabadi Maidan for the Yuva Akrosh Rally to protest the state government’s alleged failure to fulfil the electoral promise of providing 500,000 government jobs and unemployment allowances to youth. In anticipation of the BJP workers’ march, the district administration barricaded all roads using concertina wires around Morhabadi ground and imposed prohibitory orders within a 500-meter area around the ground to prevent them from marching to the chief minister’s residence. The police fired several rounds of tear gas shells and used water cannons to disperse the crowd, during which a few party workers, including BJYM President Sashank Raj, and a few policemen, including Lower Bazar police station in-charge Dayanand, were injured.