Students protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment exams on Wednesday suspended their 26-day agitation and gave a 2-month ultimatum to the state government to resolve issues. According to reports from Business Standard, the announcement comes a day after the JMM-led government issued notifications cancelling 22 recruitment exams and ordering a probe into 23 others conducted by the state public service commission and an outsourced agency since 2014. A leader of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch stated that they are now suspending the stir and giving a two-month ultimatum to the government to resolve the issues and conduct a fair probe into recruitment exam irregularities.
The government has announced that it would request the high court to constitute a fast-track court to hear cases related to alleged irregularities in Jharkhand Public Service Commission and JSSC examinations. As reported by Business Standard, internal vigilance cells are also proposed in both commissions. A committee, headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal, has been constituted to recommend reforms in JPSC and JSSC exams and has been asked to submit its report within two months. The panel is expected to examine the recruitment process and suggest measures to prevent paper leaks, manipulation and other forms of malpractice.
The cancelled examinations include recruitment for drug inspectors, assistant professors in government engineering and medical colleges, lecturers in government polytechnics, senior scientific officers, assistant conservators of forests and forest range officers. According to Business Standard, the list of cancelled tests or examinations being probed also includes various editions of the Jharkhand Combined Civil Services Examination, and tests for recruitment to food safety officers, child development project officers, food analysts, deputy director (prosecution), project managers, inspectors of factories and boilers, agriculture officers, geologists and chemists. The decision, announced after a cabinet meeting on Monday and followed by eight notifications issued late Tuesday night, covers recruitment examinations for several key administrative, technical and judicial posts.
The cancellation of examinations has triggered panic among candidates who successfully cleared these examinations and joined various government departments. As reported by Business Standard, around 2,000 candidates who were appointed to various state government departments after clearing the JSSC-CGL examination marched from the state Secretariat to Birsa Chowk in Ranchi on Tuesday. The appointed candidates said they were not opposed to an investigation but objected to the cancellation of the entire examination, arguing that action should be taken against those found guilty rather than candidates who secured appointments through a legitimate selection process. Several of them had already joined departments including finance, home, road transport, labour and information and public relations.
The investigation into the alleged recruitment irregularities has intensified with the Jharkhand CID arresting Sushma Kumari, wife of key accused Abhay Tiwari, and his brother Akshay Tiwari after questioning them for several hours. According to Business Standard, Tiwari, a former TDPL employee who was posted as a block supply officer in Godda district's Poriyahat, was arrested by the CID on July 22. Investigators claimed that Tiwari told them that different "rate charts" were allegedly used for candidates seeking to qualify in competitive examinations, with "payments ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹70 lakh" for various competitive examinations. A Congress delegation met Chief Minister Hemant Soren and welcomed the cancellations, while Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi accused the JMM-led government of "cheating" protesting students by cancelling examinations without accepting their demand for a CBI probe.
