Nineteen persons have been arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand civil service examinations, state minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey told ANI on Thursday.Tirkey described the alleged irregularities as “quite shameful” and said that the coalition government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren was investigating the matter thoroughly.Her statement came amid an ongoing student protest in Jharkhand, which entered its 14th day on Friday.The protests began on July 25, inspired by the agitation across the country against the alleged mismanagement of national competitive exams. The protesters have been holding a sit-in at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, with six demonstrators on fast.The protesters have demanded the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Preliminary Test held on April 19.They have also sought independent inquiries by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission.On Thursday, the protesting students formed an 11-member delegation to hold talks with the government about their demands, The Hindu reported.The delegation comprises eight students – Ravindra Paswan, Piyush Kumar Singh, Ravindra Kumar Ravi, Rajesh Prasad, Neetu Kujur, Kartik Soren, Sandeep Kumar and Shaalu Singh – along with a journalist representing the media, a guardian representative and a legal expert, the newspaper reported.The state government has also formed a four-member ministerial committee to hold talks with the protesting students.Rahul Gandhi speaks to protestersCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday had a phone conversation with student leader Ravindra Paswan.The student leader said he spoke to Gandhi about the situation in Jharkhand, and told him “that the exam mafia is flourising”, PTI reported.Paswan said that he told Gandhi to make his stand clear on the protests, as the Congress is a part of the coalition government in the state.He said that Gandhi asked him to send the demands of the demonstrators to him on WhatsApp, PTI reported.“We are serious about this issue, and we will do whatever we can,” Gandhi told Paswan.Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.