Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Friday rejected the Opposition’s demand for a probe by the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) into the paper leak of the Jharkhand General Graduate Level Combined Competitive Examination (JGGLCCE), 2023. Mr. Soren expressed satisfaction over the ongoing probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the State government.
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The conduct of the January 28 examination had been outsourced to an external agency, monitored by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Committee (JSSC). Around three lakh aspirants appeared for the exam. However, the general knowledge paper was leaked 40 minutes before the exam commenced, after which the examination was cancelled. On February 22, JSSC chairman Neeraj Sinha resigned from his post due to the controversy.
The SIT has arrested five people in the case, including the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly’s undersecretary Mohammad Shamin, and his two sons. On Friday, the SIT arrested two more people in Ranchi, who are residents of Bihar’s Bhagalpur and Nawada districts.
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‘SIT probe going well’
On the first day of the Jharkhand Assembly’s Budget Session, the Opposition created a ruckus, demanding a CBI probe.
“We have already formed the SIT to probe the paper leak and there is no need of any CBI probe in the case. SIT is investigating the case at a fast pace,” the CM said. “The Opposition has to trust the government, we will surely crack the case. The problem of paper leak is visible in every State, Jharkhand is not an exception,” he added.
After the leak, candidates appearing for the exam had launched a Statewide protest. A first information report (FIR) was lodged at Namkum Police Station, and a case was registered under Sections 467, 468, and 420 (120B) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 66 of the IT Act, and also under the Jharkhand Conduct of Examination Act, 2001.
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Jharkhand police have conducted raids in other States, including Bihar, as part of the case. So far, police have interrogated over 20 people in the case.
‘SIT cannot touch kingpins’
“This paper leak case can only be solved through the CBI probe and nothing less than that. The current SIT team can never touch the kingpins involved in the case,” said BJP MLA Amar Kumar Bauri, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. “You all can understand the seriousness of the case that the first person arrested belongs to this very Assembly, who has political protection. The SIT probe is nothing but a formality because many white-collar people are involved and that’s the reason we are demanding a CBI probe,” he added.
Health Minister Banna Gupta accused the BJP of creating unnecessary drama. “The Opposition leaders are just wasting time by doing drama in the House. If the Chief Minister has said that SIT is investigating the case, then there is no need for a CBI probe,” Mr. Gupta said.
Amid the uproar from the Opposition, the government presented its third supplementary Budget of ₹4,981 crore on the floor of the House.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Hemant Soren appealed to the Jharkhand High Court on Friday against the order of the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, a day after it rejected his petition to participate in the ongoing Budget Session.