The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday ordered cancellation of the general studies paper of its Provincial Civil Services (PCS) preliminary examination which was leaked just hours before the commencement of the exam on Sunday morning. The exam will now be held again on May 10 for which over 4 lakh candidates would appear.
Meanwhile, the UP police’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested three functionaries of a Lucknow-based school for allegedly leaking the paper on social networking mobile application ‘Whatsapp’even as angry PCS aspirants staged violent protests in Allahabad and Lucknow and damaged public property. These aspirants and Opposition parties are demanding the removal of UP Public Service Commission Board Chairman Anil Yadav and a CBI probe into the leak.
Government sources say Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was miffed over the commission’s initial stand denying any leak in spite of the fact that the UP police chief had confirmed it on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Yadav summoned the State’s top bureaucrats besides the UPPSC Board chief. He then ordered cancellation of the examination, they added.
The STF swung into action arresting the three officials of Adarsh Bhartiya Vidhyalay at Alambagh in Lucknow, which was also a PCS exam centre, for leaking the paper. Police officials, however, denied any role of the Commission or UP government officials in the case.
“No role of any officer or employee of the Commission or government was found in the paper leak,” STF Inspector General Sujit Pandey said. An amount of Rs.1 lakh was taken for the paper but it could not be ascertained whether the arrested got the money, Mr. Pandey added.
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