Fresh protests erupt in U.P. seeking re-exam for posts citing ‘paper leak’

Police chase away aspirants demanding exam for recruitment of review officers be held again; over 10 lakh candidates had registered for the exam conducted on Feb. 11; Congress condemns police action

Aspirants raise slogans against the alleged paper leak outside the UPPSC office in Prayagraj on Monday. | Photo Credit: AFP

The Uttar Pradesh police on Monday allegedly beat up and chased away those who had gathered outside the State service commission’s office in Prayagraj demanding that the exam for the recruitment of review officers be held again, claiming paper leak.

In a purported video of the incident that surfaced on social media, police personnel can be seen chasing away some youngsters. The Prayagraj Nagar Deputy Commissioner of Police could not be reached for comments despite multiple attempts.

Meanwhile, the Congress condemned the police action and dubbed the ruling BJP as “autocratic” while supporting the candidates’ demand.

The incident has come two days after the State government cancelled the police constable recruitment examination following complaints of question paper leak and other irregularities from across Uttar Pradesh.

‘Govt.’s assurance’

The exam for the recruitment of 411 review and assistant review officers at the U.P. Secretariat, Board of Revenue and the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) was held on February 11 at over 2,000 centres in 58 districts. A total of 10,76,004 candidates had registered for it.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had asked candidates to lodge their complaints about alleged irregularities till February 27, assuring proper probe into the issue. The UPPSC also initiated an internal probe into the allegations of paper leak.

The police action came as the protesters demanded the re-examination, citing the cancellation of the exam for the recruitment of constables.

‘Use of force unjustified’

As soon as the visuals surfaced online, the Congress condemned the use of force against the protesters while seeking strict action against those behind the alleged paper leak.

“Action must be taken against those who leaked the RO/ARO exam paper. Injustice is being done to the candidates who demand re-examination. Only a coward can use violence and oppression to hide his failures. The youth are ready to retaliate against this attack,” the party said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“They [government] is beating up people for asking for employment. The demand of the youth is justified,” the post read.