RANCHI: A row has erupted after several candidates who have appeared in the Jharkhand Staff Service Commission Graduate Level Combined Competitive (JSSC- CGL) Examination held on Sunday, September 22 complaint about the alleged tampering with question papers at a few examination centre.
Around 20 candidates appearing for the examination in Dhanbad’s Saint Anthony School centre protested against the question papers provided to them during the examination, according to them the papers received by them were not fully sealed and the first page of the papers were torn.
The candidates emphasised that a video recording should be done to the question papers received by them, however when the same was not agreed upon they reportedly submitted blank answer sheets.
In a similar case from Hazaribagh, candidates appearing for the examination at Jack and Zeal centre also labelled similar allegations. The candidates alleged that the question papers received by them in the second sitting was not sealed and the serial numbers of the question papers were mismatched.
Learning about the protest of the candidates, the concerned authorities soon reached the spot and tried calming the candidates. A report on the allegation of the students was later submitted by the centre’s head after which the Deputy Commissioner of Hazaribagh, Nancy Sahai in a press briefing clarified that all the question papers provided to the candidates were fully sealed.
Meanwhile highlighting the concerns raised by the candidates several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trained guns at the state government. Reacting to the allegations, Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand State assembly, Amar Kumar Bauri in a post on X said “Irregularities have been reported in the JSSC-CGL examination from several centres, the seal of question papers being found open before the commencement of the examination is an indication of big rigging.”
Notably, the state government has already been on the receiving end after the Jharkhand High Court pulled up the government over suspension of entire internet services in the state during the examination.
According to the details, the government has submitted before the court that internet services will be suspended on mobile phones only and that too for a limited period. The move was reported to be aimed at preventing any attempt of paper leak.
Though the court in its order has pulled up the state government for suspending the entire internet facilities. “The subsequent action of the State amounts to overreaching the judicial order passed by this court on September 21, more so when the writ petition is still pending. This is a fraud played on this court and is a deceitful action,” read the court order.
उच्च न्यायालय ने कहा कि राज्य सरकार ने हाई कोर्ट के साथ फ्रॉड किया।
यह टिप्पणी माननीय उच्च न्यायालय ने इंटरनेट सेवा को परीक्षा के दौरान सस्पेंड करने के मामले में दिया है। उच्च न्यायालय ने आदेश के पैराग्राफ 9 में कहा कि राज्य सरकार ने कहा था कि सिर्फ मोबाइल की इंटरनेट सेवा बाधित… pic.twitter.com/8n2QP9ojXw— Pratul Shah Deo🇮🇳 (@pratulshahdeo) September 23, 2024
The court while listing the matter for the next hearing on November 14, directed that “no internet facility, in whatever form, will be suspended henceforth within the State of Jharkhand on the ground of conducting any examination till the pendency of the writ petition.”
It is to be noted that several leaders of the opposition have opposed the government’s move to suspend the internet facility, citing that the same would create inconvenience, particularly for the candidates appearing for the examinations. Following the government’s announcement, a Public Interest Litigation was filed before the court hearing on which the court has directed the state government to file a reply into the matter within four weeks.
It is pertinent to mention here, that the JSSC-CGL examination held earlier on January 28, landed in controversy after it was claimed that the question asked in the third shift of the paper was doing the rounds on the internet since a day before the examination. The revelation led to a massive outrage among the candidates who launched protests against the alleged paper leak before the exams, leading to cancellation of the examinations.
