Another scam in government recruitment has surfaced in Gujarat when the State government on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the allegations of irregularities in an online exam being held for the recruitment of engineers for the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO).
The exam began on Tuesday and will continue for the next three days at many centres.
The administration was forced to order the probe after State Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) youth wing leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja alleged that some middlemen, in connivance with some officials and a private agency which is conducting the online exam, were helping candidates by taking a huge amount of money.
Mr. Jadeja also produced a series of documents to substantiate his charges.
As soon as Mr. Jadeja’s media briefing got over, the State government announced that all allegations would be probed to ascertain the facts.
Education Minister and Cabinet spokesman Jitu Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has ordered an inquiry.
“Our government believes in transparency. Nearly 35,000 young aspirants are appearing in this online exam. Our CM has ordered an inquiry into the allegations. Strict action would follow if anyone is found guilty,” he said.
As per the AAP leader, the role of a Maharashtra-headquartered firm, which has been given the contract by GETCO to conduct the recruitment test, is also under the radar.
The government has defended the agency contending that it was hired earlier for the recruitment of the railway police and also by some central PSUs.
The Minister ruled out cancelling the exam. “Let the probe bring out the truth.”
The online test, which began at 12 noon on Tuesday, is being conducted for the recruitment of 300 electrical and 53 civil engineers.
“The entire scam is being run by people based in Bayad town of Arvalli district. The candidates who have paid an advance only pretend to appear in the exam but will not answer any question. Instead, people sitting in a control room will click answers for them,” Mr. Jadeja claimed.
“This agency’s name had surfaced in a similar scam in the past. The middlemen usually charge ₹20 lakh from each candidate and take ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh as advance. With the help of this agency and officials, right answers are clicked from the control room on behalf of the candidates,” he alleged, explaining how the exam was being gamed.
He also named around a dozen persons who are actively involved in the malpractice.
In Gujarat, this is the second instance of serious allegations of fraud and irregularities in the government recruitment process. Last month, the State government had to cancel the exam for the recruitment of head clerks after the police had found substance about paper leak before the exam was conducted.
