By IANS
Ranchi : Upset over the state government’s refusal to accept their demands for better bonus and promotion, four government employees Friday attempted to set themselves ablaze here. One was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The fourth grade employees have been protesting for the past two weeks, seeking bonus and other promotion benefits from the state government. The immolation bids were made at the state’s secretariat building where about 50 employees assembled amid police presence.
As four of the protesters tried to set themselves on fire to highlight their demands, the police took them away. But two had sustained burn injuries already, with the condition of Bhirgu Pandey being critical.
Pandey, who had been working in the finance department, was taken to Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS).
Jawahar Jha, general secretary of the Fourth Grade Employees Association, said: “Our counterparts in the parent state, Bihar, enjoy better perks and benefits but the Jharkhand government is not accepting our genuine monetary demands since the state came into existence in 2000.”