Uttarakhand paper leak: Youths demand CBI inquiry; intent to disrupt recruitment, says CM

Dehradun, Sep 25 (PTI) The Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh, protesting against the alleged leak of three pages of a graduate-level examination's question paper, on Thursday demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigate the "irregularities in the examination".

Amid the uproar caused by the leaking of three pages of the question paper during the competitive examination for various departments on September 21, a delegation led by union president Ram Kandwal met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, but it yielded no results.

Responding to the demand for a CBI probe into the paper leak case, Dhami said it is a ploy to complicate and divert the recruitment process in the state. He said the recruitment process in the state will continue uninterrupted and all the vacant posts will be filled.

A large number of students, under the banner of the Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh, have put up tents on the road outside the Parade Ground here and are sitting on an indefinite strike.

The union has also demanded the immediate resignation of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) chairman, cancellation of the examination and amendments to the constable recruitment rules from the state government.

The union's state vice president, Suresh Singh, said, "We will not end our protest until the state government accepts all our demands." Singh alleged that there were large-scale irregularities in the examination and the unemployed would continue their protest until the government accepted their demands.

Since the incident surfaced, the opposition Congress party has been continuously targeting the state government on this issue.

State Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said his party will hold protests against the state government at all district headquarters on Friday, demanding a CBI investigation into the incident.

Amid mounting pressure, the state government on Wednesday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of a retired high court judge to probe the case.

The five-member SIT has been formed under the chairmanship of Dehradun Superintendent of Police (Rural) Jai Baluni, who is investigating the case.

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan said the SIT's investigation will cover the entire state and will submit its report within a month. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty in the investigation, he added.

Bardhan said that the interest of the students is paramount for the state government and the SIT has been formed to maintain the credibility and purity of the examination system among the general public and students.

He said that the state government will also request the Commission not to take any further steps regarding the exam until the investigation is completed.

Screenshots of three pages of the question paper for the exam conducted by the Commission went viral on social media. It showed the time the photos were taken shortly after the exam began, causing a stir in the state.

The police have arrested the main accused, Khalid Malik, and his sister Sabia. Khalid had appeared in the examination as a candidate from Haridwar.

According to the police, Khalid had taken a photo of the question paper from the examination centre set up at Adarsh ​​Bal Sadan Inter College in Bahadurpur Jat village of Pathri area in Haridwar and sent it to his sister Sabia, who sent the questions to Suman, an assistant professor in Tehri, and obtained the answers.

Suman became suspicious of the questions, after which she took their screenshots and shared the information with another person, who, instead of going to the police or any competent authority, uploaded them on social media, making them viral.

Speaking at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Educational Excellence Award ceremony here on Thursday, Chief Minister Dhami said that in the last four years, recruitment examinations were conducted with transparency and 25,000 youth got jobs, whereas in the 21 years since the formation of the state, only 16,000 appointments were made.

He said that some people are not happy with the youth getting government jobs in a transparent manner and they are conspiring to leak the papers in an organised manner. An atmosphere of anarchy has been created on the basis of a complaint, he added.

"Many people intend to complicate and divert it (the recruitment process) in the name of paper leak, anarchy or investigations," Dhami said.

He said sarcastically that many people in Delhi and Uttarakhand who have been speaking against the CBI are the same people who are today demanding an inquiry by the same agency into this matter.

Dhami said that there is a process of CBI investigation which goes on for many years, and during this time, all the recruitment process gets postponed.

He said, "But we will not let the recruitment examinations stop at all and will fill all the vacant posts." The chief minister described the Sunday incident as a case of "cheating" instead of paper leak and said that if someone got hold of some questions of the question paper, then it was his responsibility to convey this to the police or the administration.

But, he said, as part of an agenda, it was kept hidden for several hours and later a conspiracy was hatched to defame the examination system by releasing it on social media.

Dhami said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed under the supervision of a retired judge to investigate the irregularities during the examination. It will complete the investigation within a month and based on its findings, the government will take decisive action.

He said, "Our government will selectively arrest and punish every cheating mafia in the state," adding that the policy and intention of the government are clear, that the talent, ability and capability of every student in the state will be given justice at all costs. PTI DPT KSS KSS