Police in Chandigarh used water cannons and lathi-charges on Aug. 5, 2026 [1], to disperse protesters marching toward the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.
The clash highlights growing tensions over government transparency and the integrity of public service recruitment in the region. The scale of the response suggests a high priority for the state to maintain order around the legislative assembly.
Demonstrators from the Punjab Youth Congress and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gathered to protest alleged paper leaks in the Pharmacy Officers recruitment examination [1], [2]. The activists sought to march to the state assembly to demand accountability for the breach.
Security forces deployed water cannons to push back the crowds as they approached the Punjab Vidhan Sabha [2], [3]. Police also conducted lathi-charges to break the lines of the demonstrators. These tactics were used to prevent the protesters from reaching the government buildings.
Protesters focused their demands on the resignation of Punjab's education minister [4]. They argued that the alleged leaks in the pharmacy recruitment process compromised the fairness of the examination, and cheated qualified candidates.
While the protesters represented different political affiliations, both the Youth Congress and ABVP aligned in their opposition to the recruitment scandal [2]. The confrontation ended after police blocked the march and dispersed the activists from the area.
“Police used water cannons and lathi-charges to disperse protesters.”
The rare alignment of the Youth Congress and ABVP—organizations typically on opposite ends of the political spectrum—indicates that the alleged exam leaks have created a broad base of public frustration. By targeting the education minister's resignation, the protesters are attempting to turn a bureaucratic failure into a political crisis for the current administration.
