Daijiworld Media Network - Ranchi

Ranchi, Mar 17: The Jharkhand High Court has granted relief to 18 BJP leaders, including State President Babulal Marandi, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, and Rajya Sabha MPs Pradeep Verma and Deepak Prakash, by quashing the FIR lodged against them. The case stemmed from a violent clash with police during the Yuva Aakrosh Rally in Ranchi last August.

A Bench led by Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary ruled in favor of the BJP leaders, dismissing the charges related to the protest. The rally, organized by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) on August 23, 2024, at Morabadi Ground, aimed to highlight issues such as unemployment, irregularities in government job examinations, delays in results, and the regularization of contract workers.

The situation escalated when thousands of BJP workers, after the rally, attempted to breach police barricades while marching toward the Chief Minister’s residence. This led to violent clashes with security personnel.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed at Ranchi’s Lalpur police station against 51 BJP leaders, including former minister Arjun Munda, then Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri, and 12,000 unidentified individuals. The charges included rioting, violating government orders, obstructing official duties, and inciting violence.

Among those named in the FIR were seven MPs—B.D. Ram, Aditya Sahu, Deepak Prasad, Pradeep Verma, Vidyut Varan Mahto, Manish Jaiswal, and Dulu Mahato—and 17 MLAs, including Neelkanth Singh Munda, Randhir Singh, Neera Yadav, Ramchandra Chandravanshi, Aparna Sengupta, and others.

The BJP leaders challenged the FIR in the Jharkhand High Court, arguing that the charges were politically motivated. After reviewing the case, the court ruled in their favor, providing them legal relief and dismissing the allegations.