On day 16 of his hunger strike, Devendra Mahto broke his fast. Moments earlier, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had announced the cancellation of all competitive examinations conducted by testing agency TDPL since 2014, a demand that had brought thousands of students to the streets of Ranchi since July 25.
Other hunger strikers, including Umme Habiba and Rahul Kranti, ended their fasts at Sadar Hospital in the presence of state ministers.
A faction of student leaders said the government's concessions, while significant, did not go far enough. The key outstanding demand is a CBI probe into the cancelled JSSC-CGL and TDPL examinations, the government has ordered a CID investigation, not a CBI one.
