Journalist detained at breakfast table, questioned over Jharkhand 'protest coverage'

Amid continuing protests over alleged irregularities in JPSC-JSSC examinations, senior journalist Aman Chopra has alleged that Jharkhand Police briefly detained and questioned him before registering an FIR over his coverage of the agitation.In a video posted on X, Chopra claimed that several other journalists covering the protests and the march towards the Jharkhand Assembly were also detained and questioned by police.“Jharkhand Police has been selectively targeting journalists. They came to me while I was eating at the hotel. They detained me and interrogated me for nearly two hours before giving me the FIR copy,” Chopra alleged.He accused the Hemant Soren government of attempting to prevent journalists from reporting developments surrounding the student agitation. “The Jharkhand government is worried that the truth will be exposed. That is why it is stopping journalists from doing their work. The FIR is the price we have to pay for doing our job,” he said.Chopra also contrasted the situation in Ranchi with the earlier student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, claiming that journalists had been able to report freely during the Cockroach Janta Party-led agitation.BJP SLAMS SOREN GOVT The BJP seized on Chopra’s allegations to attack the Jharkhand government, accusing it of “hounding journalists” while protests over recruitment examinations intensified.“What exactly does Hemant Soren’s government want to know from a journalist covering the protests? And why is the government so nervous about journalists doing their job?” BJP leader Amit Malviya said.He alleged that instead of focusing on maintaining law and order on the ground, the police were targeting journalists covering the protests.The allegations come as tensions between protesters and police escalated during a march by JPSC-JSSC aspirants towards the Jharkhand Assembly.Jharkhand Police is at the hotel where journalist Aman Chopra, who is covering the student protests, is staying.What exactly does Hemant Soren’s government want to know from a journalist covering the protests? And why is the government so nervous about journalists doing their pic.twitter.com/JRLNffs65b— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 10, 2026POLICE LATHICHARGE AS PROTESTERS MARCH TO ASSEMBLYPolice resorted to a lathicharge as protesting aspirants moved closer to the Assembly, with some demonstrators reportedly sustaining injuries.The protesters had begun marching from the Old Assembly towards the New Assembly as part of their continuing agitation over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.Several police barricades were breached during the march, following which security personnel deployed water cannons in an attempt to stop the protesters.Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike for nine days, also joined the march after arriving in an ambulance. He was later carried on a stretcher during the protest.CGL REMAINS KEY STICKING POINTThe confrontation came after talks between the government and student groups failed to fully resolve the dispute.Jharkhand Minister Deepika Pandey Singh has said the government accepted nearly all demands that fell within its powers and was also willing to have investigations into the alleged irregularities conducted under judicial monitoring.However, the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination remains one of the major sticking points.The government has maintained that it cannot unilaterally cancel the examination because the matter is linked to judicial directives.The protesting aspirants, meanwhile, have continued to press for stronger action over alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations, keeping the agitation alive despite several rounds of talks with the state government.- EndsPublished By: Aprameya RaoPublished On: Aug 10, 2026 16:16 IST