Aspirants for government clerical jobs are up in arms against the alleged paper leak for recruitment examinations conducted by the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB). On Monday, the discrepancy came to light. Leading the fight is Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, youth wing vice-president, AAP Gujarat unit. He demanded action and submitted a formal complaint to the GSSSB Tuesday.
The written examination seeking to select 186 head clerks was conducted by the GSSSB on December 12. Around 2 lakh candidates had registered for the examination and around 1.5 lakh appeared for the same at six examination centers across the state.
“There is evidence and a formal complaint has been lodged with the GSSSB,” informed Mr Jadeja. He elaborated saying that the 200 marks written assessment was held between 12 noon and 2 pm. However, the previous night, some 16 students got it at a farmhouse in Unchha village of Prantij tehsil in Sabarkantha district. “Not only did they re-do their studies with emphasis on the portions coming for the exams, they leaked it further on social media,” he stated, adding that the leaked paper was sold between Rs 6 to 12 lakh.
Refuting all charges, GSSSB chairman Asit Vora, said that there was no proof of the paper leak. He claimed that Mr Jadeja had not approached him and was making up the entire allegation. On the other hand, AAP claimed that several questions were solved in the farmhouse before the exams and that the paper had already reached about 72 candidates in Bhavnagar, Surendranagar and Vadodara. Following the alleged foul play, the government directed Sabarkantha police to conduct an inquiry.
Over the past few years, the state has been rocked by paper leak scams. Noteworthy cases are the 2016 Talati Exam, 2018 LRD Recruitment Exam, and the 2020 Bin Sachivalay Exam.
When contacted, police officials briefed that an inquiry has been initiated. “However, no formal FIR has been lodged. We are still to locate the farmhouse at the centre of all this,” said a police officer on conditions of anonymity. The two accused Sabarkantha residents, Ketanbhai and Jaybhai, are on the run and a search has been launched.
Meanwhile, the AAP Party is planning state-wide protests. Chief spokesperson of Congress, Dr Manish Doshi termed the paper leak as ‘Vyapam Scam of Gujarat’. He said, “corruption and BJP have become synonyms”. “This is the ninth paper leak in recent times. In such circumstances, what is the security and future of the job seekers?” he questioned.
