Crime

Paper Leak : CM signals termination of officials involved in ‘malpractices’

Itanagar, 11 March : On Friday, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, announced that the state government has initiated proceedings to terminate 42 government officials accused of engaging in “malpractices” during various exams conducted by the state public service commission.

Khandu made this statement while discussing the budget in the assembly. He further stated that since 2017, a total of 54 individuals, including 42 government officials, have been arrested on allegations of malpractice in eleven exams conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.

The Chief Minister described the paper leak issue as “inhumane” and stated that the government has been dealing with the alleged irregularities strictly.

The state police’s Special Investigating Cell (SIC) conducted an investigation, and later the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On December 9th of last year, the agency filed a chargesheet against eight individuals, and on January 30th of this year, they filed another chargesheet against one person.

In February, CM Khandu informed that the government had written to the Gauhati High Court after a meeting with the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC) to request the designation of the District and Sessions Court in Yupia as a special fast-track court to hear the APPSC paper leak cases.

The Chief Minister informed that the Gauhati High Court has responded positively to the government’s request to designate the District and Sessions Court in Yupia as a special fast-track court for the APPSC paper leak cases.

Regarding the demand to conduct exams by UPSC, CM Khandu stated that the government has raised the issue with UPSC and is awaiting their response. He mentioned that whether UPSC agrees to conduct the exams or not will determine whether a new commission needs to be constituted to arrange for tests. The appointments of the APPSC Chairman and members were recently cancelled.

CM Khandu addressed the demand made by the PAJSC to declare all exams conducted by APPSC as “null & void,” which led to protests by the parents of genuine candidates opposing it. He clarified that the government does not have the authority to declare the exams as “null & void” since APPSC is an autonomous body. He further mentioned that the new commission will be asked to decide and may seek the government’s suggestions if required.

The paper leak incident was brought to light by a candidate who filed a complaint at the Itanagar Police Station on August 29th of last year, suspecting that the Assistant Engineers (civil) examination paper had been leaked.

For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook fb.com/thevoiceofsikkim or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/thevoicesikkim and Instagram instagram.com/thevoiceofsikkim. Visit www.voiceofsikkim.com.