Jharkhand exam row: Students suspend 26-day stir after state cancels 22 exams, directs probe into 23 others

Students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in Jharkhand on Wednesday suspended their 26day agitation and gave the state government a twomonth ultimatum to resolve the issues news agency PTI reportedThe announcement came a day after the JMMled 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 2014We are now suspending the stir and giving a twomonth ultimatum to the government to resolve the issues and conduct a fair probe into recruitment exam irregularities said a leader of the JPSCJSSC Reforms ManchThe Manch which led the students agitation at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here said three protesters mdash Rupesh Kumar Pal Savita Kumari and Rahul Kranti mdash ended their 15day fast on WednesdayManch leader Ravindra Paswan said The 26day protest by students forced Jkhand government to cancel 22 recruitment exams and launch a probe into 23 othersSpokesperson Piyush Kumar Singh said that if the issues remained unresolved they would be forced to relaunch a massive agitationWe 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 DepartmentThe 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 governmentCancellation of exams triggers panic among successful candidatesMeanwhile the cancellation of the examinations triggered panic among candidates who had successfully cleared them and joined various government departmentsAmong the cancelled examinations is the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level JSSCCGL examination prompting successful candidates to take to the streetsThe 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 postsJLKM leader Devendra Mahto who ended a 16day hunger strike following the governments announcement has said that he would soon launch a second phase of agitationThe 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 officersThe government said the action was necessary to restore confidence in the recruitment system amid allegations of malpractice and irregularitiesThe move however triggered protests from around 2000 candidates who were appointed to various state government departments after clearing the JSSCCGL examination They marched from the state Secretariat to Birsa Chowk in Ranchi on Tuesday a day after Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced the cancellationThe 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 processThe protesters said several of them had already joined departments including Finance Home Road Transport Labour and Information and Public RelationsGovt plans fasttrack court vigilance cells for recruitment examsAlongside the cancellations the government has announced that it would request the high court to constitute a fasttrack court to hear cases related to alleged irregularities in Jharkhand Public Service Commission and JSSC examinationsInternal vigilance cells are also proposed in both commissionsA 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 monthsThe panel is expected to examine the recruitment process and suggest measures to prevent paper leaks manipulation and other forms of malpracticeCID probe into alleged recruitment irregularities intensifiesThe investigation into the alleged recruitment irregularities has also intensifiedThe Jharkhand CID arrested Sushma Kumari wife of key accused Abhay Tiwari and his brother Akshay after questioning them for several hoursAbhay Tiwari is a former employee of the outsourced agency TDPL who was posted as a block supply officer in Godda districts Poriyahat He was arrested by the CID on July 22Officials 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 detailsThey 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 lakhA Congress delegation met Soren and welcomed the cancellations saying the move would protect students seeking fair recruitmentLeader of Opposition Babulal Marandi accused the JMMled government of cheating protesting students by cancelling examinations without accepting their demand for a CBI probeWith PTI inputs