Surjewala said even if the paper was not leaked and cancelled, “would it be possible to recruit constables on the basis of such irrelevant and silly questions” that have no relation with the duties and functions of job of a police constable.(File) Gai aur bhains kis parivar se sambandhit hain? (Cows and buffaloes are related to which family?)
400 kg bhaari gai ke liye shushk padaarth ki dainik avayashakta hai? (What is the daily requirement of dry fodder for a cow weighing 400 kgs?)
Bhadavari bhains ke doodh me wasa ka adhiktam pratishat hota hai…(the maximum percentage of fat in a Bhadavari buffalo’s milk is…)
These and several more such questions were part of exam held on August 7 for the police constable aspirants in Haryana. Amid reports of a paper leak, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) the same day cancelled the written examination.
The Haryana Police Monday arrested seven more persons in connection with the paper leak, taking the total the total number of people apprehended to 14 even as the opposition Congress reiterated its demand for a high-court monitored CBI probe into the case. Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also demanding immediate dismissal of HSSC chief while alleging that “absurd, idiotic and baseless questions” were asked in the recruitment exam, which have no relation with the duties and functions of job of a police constable.
Saturday was the first day of the examination and candidates appeared in the paper across 35 centres in the state in two shifts. Papers were scheduled for Sunday also, but later these too were cancelled.
While HSSC chief Bhopal Singh Khadri had earlier written to the DGP seeking a thorough probe into the paper leak case, Haryana Police has registered multiple FIRs in different districts.
A Haryana Police spokesperson Monday said seven more people have been arrested in connection with the paper leak case. They include Sandeep (23), Gautam (25), both residents of Khapar in Jind and Naveen (27) of Pyoda, from Mata Gate Kaithal.
The answer key of Haryana Police constable’s written examination was also recovered from their possession, according to the police.
During the course of investigation, the police also arrested Ramesh (42), a resident of village Thua from Kaithal, and Rajesh (26) from Ambala. “It has also come to light that accused Ramesh runs a coaching centre in Kaithal,” the spokesperson said.
Ramesh is suspected to be the kingpin and had entered into deals with candidates at Rs 12 lakh each. After interrogation, the sixth member of their gang, Narendra (31), a resident of Hisar, was also arrested from Sirsa.
“The investigation revealed that the answer key was provided to Ramesh by Narendra on the night of August 6. It also came to light that the answer key was obtained by Narendra by making a deal of Rs 1 crore. Ramesh and his other associates had decided to give it to others for Rs 12-18 lakh. During the investigation, it was revealed that the gang members had provided the answer key to a few people through WhatsApp and they took advance cheques from some of them,” said Kaithal SP Lokendra Singh. He said raids are on to arrest other people involved in the case.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters here, Surjewala said the Khattar government and the Staff Selection Commission spend Rs 25 crore every year on “secrecy of exam”.
“So, where does this money go? The contract to conduct the paper has allegedly been given to a Hyderabad-based company. It is natural that a contract for conducting all the future examinations would also have been given to this company. Since, the said company as also the entire Staff Selection Commission is under the direct needle of suspicion, how can a fair investigation be conducted and who, if any, will be punished?” he asked.
He said approximately 8,39,000 youngsters had applied for the post of male police constables. “It means, every fifth family in Haryana is somehow affected. On August 7, a total of 3.5 lakh youngsters had appeared for the examination”.
Surjewala said even if the paper was not leaked and cancelled, “would it be possible to recruit constables on the basis of such irrelevant and silly questions” that have no relation with the duties and functions of job of a police constable. “There were no questions on law and order situation, crowd control, Constitution of India, fundamental rights of people, crime investigation, collection of evidence at a crime scene, administrative affairs, procedure for raids, arrests etc. Rather, the questions pertaining to animals and their upkeep and irrigation were asked,” he said.
“In fact, by asking such questions, the Khattar government is executing a conspiracy to select a favoured few perhaps with advance knowledge of the nature of wholly irrelevant questions that would be asked. The way in which the question paper was set and then got leaked and sold is a cruel joke with the future of Haryana’s youth,” the Congress leader said.
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