Students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in Jharkhand on Wednesday suspended their 26-day agitation and gave the state government a two-month ultimatum to resolve the issues, news agency PTI reported.
The announcement came a day after the JMM-led government issued notifications cancelling 22 recruitment examinations and ordering a probe into 23 others conducted by the state public service commission and an outsourced agency since 2014.
“We 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,” said a leader of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch.
The Manch, which led the students’ agitation at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here, said three protesters — Rupesh Kumar Pal, Savita Kumari and Rahul Kranti — ended their 15-day fast on Wednesday.
Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said, “The 26-day protest by students forced J’khand government to cancel 22 recruitment exams and launch a probe into 23 others.”
Spokesperson Piyush Kumar Singh said that if the issues remained unresolved, they would be forced to relaunch a massive agitation.
“We urge Chief Minister Hemant Soren to initiate stringent measures to check recurrence of job exam irregularities,” he said, and demanded the withdrawal of FIRs against protesters who took part in the August 10 march to the Assembly and the reinstatement of whistleblower Santosh Kumar Mastana to the Finance Department.
The protesters said they sympathised with successful candidates who faced the risk of losing their jobs after the examinations were scrapped, and alleged that the fault lay with the government.
Cancellation of exams triggers panic among successful candidates
Meanwhile, the cancellation of the examinations triggered panic among candidates who had successfully cleared them and joined various government departments.
Among the cancelled examinations is the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination, prompting successful candidates to take to the streets.
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.
JLKM leader Devendra Mahto, who ended a 16-day hunger strike following the government’s announcement, has said that he would soon launch a second phase of agitation.
The cancelled examinations include recruitment tests for drug inspectors, assistant professors in government engineering and medical colleges, lecturers in government polytechnics, senior scientific officers, assistant conservators of forests, forest range officers, food safety officers and child development project officers.
The government said the action was necessary to restore confidence in the recruitment system amid allegations of malpractice and irregularities.
The move, however, triggered protests from around 2,000 candidates who were appointed to various state government departments after clearing the JSSC-CGL examination. They marched from the state Secretariat to Birsa Chowk in Ranchi on Tuesday, a day after Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced the cancellation.
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.
The protesters said several of them had already joined departments including Finance, Home, Road Transport, Labour, and Information and Public Relations.
Govt plans fast-track court, vigilance cells for recruitment exams
Alongside the cancellations, 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.
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 examinations 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.
CID probe into alleged recruitment irregularities intensifies
The investigation into the alleged recruitment irregularities has also intensified.
The Jharkhand CID arrested Sushma Kumari, wife of key accused Abhay Tiwari, and his brother Akshay after questioning them for several hours.
Abhay Tiwari is a former employee of the outsourced agency TDPL, who was posted as a block supply officer in Godda district’s Poriyahat. He was arrested by the CID on July 22.
Officials said the investigation found that Tiwari had qualified for around 12 competitive examinations over 13 years, including tests conducted by the police, the Navy, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the CRPF, and Northern Coalfields. Investigators are examining his application forms, documents, evaluation records, and selection details.
They claimed that Tiwari told investigators that different “rate charts” were allegedly used for candidates seeking to qualify in competitive examinations, with “payments ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 70 lakh”.
A Congress delegation met Soren and welcomed the cancellations, saying the move would protect students seeking fair recruitment.
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.
(With PTI inputs)
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