Dehradun: 13 arrested, Section 144 imposed after protests against UKPSC paper leak turn violent

The protests, which turned violent on Thursday, saw a scuffle between the protestors and police forces followed by bouts of stone pelting and lathi charge which led to injuries on both sides.

Dehradun: At least 13 persons were arrested and section 144 was imposed in Dehradun's Parade Ground area on Friday after the protest by unemployed youth against UKPSC paper leak and unemployment intensified with the demand for an impartial CBI inquiry, leading to stone pelting and clashes between the police and protestors. Following this, the Uttarakhand Berojgar Sangh has called for a statewide bandh. 15 policemen sustained injuries in the stone pelting, as per news agency ANI.

Those arrested included Union president Bobby Panwar as well as 12 others. The protests, which took place at the main Rajpur Road in Dehradun, intensified after protestors allegedly pelted stones at police personnel, damaging their vehicles. A heavy police force was deployed at the spot, which subsequently resorted to lathi charge.

The state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the lathi charge incident. "The Chief Minister has directed the Chief Secretary for a detailed magisterial inquiry into the law and order situation and the entire sequence of lathi charge," the CM's office said. Speaking on the matter, the Dehradun DIG said some "outside elements" had infiltrated the protesting crowd in order to vitiate the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress took to task the state government over alleged irregularities in the recruitment of government staff via the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission examination, which has rocked the state in recent weeks. The UKPSC exam paper leak resulted in the cancellation of the Patwari Lekhpal examinations for more than one lakh candidates.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Leader of the Opposition and Congress MLA Yashpal Arya said the protest was a 'reaction' to the recruitment scam. "The youth have revealed the irregularities. The government came under pressure, but those who were arrested were also immediately granted bail, as the administration wanted to save these people" he noted.

Aligning Congress' stance with those holding demonstrations, Arya said the party, too, wanted a CBI probe. "We said there should be a CBI probe under the aegis of a sitting HC judge. Congress will take this issue up against the government, both in the streets and in the state assembly. Yesterday, I saw police personnel manhandling the protestors, booking them under stringent sections, and taking them away from the spot. This is totally unacceptable," he observed.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said the government always worked for the benefit of the students. "We care about their future, and will continue to do so in the future" he said. "We have decided that the strictest anti-copying law should be implemented in Uttarakhand. For this, we have sent the ordinance of strict anti-copying law to the Raj Bhavan yesterday, it will be implemented soon" the Chief Minister's office quoted him as saying.

Notably, nine people were booked by a Special Investigation Team in the state last Friday, February 3, and subsequently charged with provisions under the Indian Penal Code, Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act and the Anti-Corruption Act for their involvement in the exam paper leak. The recruitments in question were related to the post of Assistant Engineers (AE) and Junior Engineers (JE).