Ranchi, Aug. 13 -- Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 11 days protesting alleged corruption in JPSC-JSSC examinations, on Wednesday sought formal permission from hospital authorities to return to the protest site at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi.

Mahto, who is currently undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital following injuries sustained during a police lathi-charge on August 10, wrote a formal application to the Civil Surgeon, stating that being away from his fellow protesters is causing him more distress than his physical ailments.

"My body is undergoing treatment in the hospital bed, but my soul and resolve are at the Satyagraha site where students and youth are engaged in a just...