Dehradun: A protest by youths against a recruitment examination paper leak in Uttarakhand turned violent when the protesters clashed with police personnel and pelted stones at them here on Thursday. The police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protesters. Some youths were injured in caning.
The clash between the protesters and the police caused a long traffic jam from Clock Tower to Rajpur Road. Unemployed youths staged a dharna here on Wednesday demanding a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in different recruitment examinations conducted by the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission. The youths were angry as police allegedly forced them to stop their dharna on Wednesday.
The Congress reacted sharply to the "coercive manner in which the voice of youths was being silenced" by the state government. The party will hold demonstrations in every district on Friday in protest against the atrocity against the youths, PCC vice-president Mathura Dutt Joshi said. On Thursday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami appealed to the youths not to let themselves be misled by anyone, saying efforts are on to ensure that recruitment examinations are held in the state in a transparent manner.
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"We are soon going to bring the strictest anti-copying law in the country. It will be ensured that the use of unfair means in recruitment examinations stops completely and they are held in a transparent manner. We will see to it that no injustice is done to the youth," Dhami said. "Our government is making decisions in favour of the youth. We have granted reservations to our sisters and daughters in government jobs. Everyone's interest will be protected. My request to the youth is that they should not allow themselves to be misled by anyone," he said.
