Ranchi (Jharkhand), August 9:Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Sunday accepted the resignations of three members of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), following a recommendation from the state government, the Lok Bhavan said in a statement.

The resignations of JPSC members Ajita Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda and Jamal Ahmed were accepted amid growing protests by students over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

Earlier on Sunday, representatives of the Jharkhand government held another round of talks in Ranchi with representatives of various student organisations protesting the alleged irregularities.

Following the discussions, the state government announced a multi-pronged action plan, including a CID probe into alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC examination and backlog recruitments conducted between 2023 and 2025. The government will also seek an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into suspected financial irregularities.

Jharkhand Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu said the government would also set up a fast-track court and constitute an expert committee to recommend reforms in the recruitment process.

"The criminal aspects will be investigated by the CID; furthermore, given the financial implications and evidence of illicit financial transactions, a request will be made for an ED investigation," Sonu said.

He added that once the investigations are completed, a fast-track court would be constituted and charge sheets against those found guilty would be filed within 90 days.

On demands for reforms in the recruitment system, Sonu said the government had agreed to constitute an expert committee comprising representatives from IIT-ISM, IIM Ranchi and XLRI.

However, the protesting students continued to demand cancellation of the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination conducted after 2019. The government rejected the demand, saying it could not unilaterally cancel an examination conducted under the directions of the High Court and Supreme Court and currently under judicial monitoring.

As an alternative, the government proposed setting up a monitoring committee headed by a retired judge to oversee the investigation and address the concerns of the students. However, the protesters did not accept the proposal.

Sonu said the government had agreed to nearly all the demands raised by the protesting students.

"We believe the government agreed to 98 per cent of the points raised. The remaining two per cent — specifically the demand to cancel the CGL exam — could not be met because the government cannot unilaterally cancel an exam conducted under court orders, where results have been published and successful candidates are already employed," he said.

The minister said the proposed monitoring committee was aimed at ensuring transparency and giving students confidence that their concerns would be properly addressed during the investigation.

The decisions followed three days of discussions and extensive consultations with the protesting aspirants, held on the directions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The protesters gathered at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi and demanded cancellation of all JSSC CGL, JSSC JE and PGT examinations conducted after 2019. They also sought a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities and strict action against the "mafias and agencies involved".

Among their other demands were disclosure of category-wise cut-offs for UR, EWS, BC-I, BC-II, SC and ST candidates, publication of OMR sheets and response sheets to ensure transparency, and introduction of a recruitment calendar on the lines of the UPSC and SSC.

The state government's latest measures are aimed at addressing the allegations of irregularities, improving transparency in the recruitment process and bringing the ongoing protests to an end.