Massive protests by students across the State have erupted in Gujarat following irregularities/malfeasance in the recently conducted recruitment exam for non-secretariat clerks and secretariat assistants in the State.
Thousands of students reached the State capital Gandhinagar, demanding cancellation of the exam after reports of malpractices emerged from 39 places.
There were also many instances of lathi charge by the police as the students assembled outside the office of the Gujarat State Subordinate Services Board (GSSSB), which conducted the exam.
Dozens of students, including girls, suffered injuries as the lathi-wielding police chased thousands of students creating a stampede-like situation in the capital.
More than 800 students were detained by the police for holding protests without permission.
After Gandhinagar, protests were held by the students in Patan in North Gujarat and other places, where students demanded cancellation of the exam and retest.
FIR ordered
Meanwhile, the government has admitted that it has received complaints of malfeasance and irregularities from 39 places and ordered an FIR and even arrests have been made but ruled out scrapping the exam and holding it again.
On November 17, the GSSSB conducted exam for recruitment of class III secretariat assistants and non secretariat clerks for 3,910 vacancies, in which more than six lakh students appeared at 3,173 centres across the State.
The government received complaints of malpractices and irregularities from 39 centres from five districts. The complaints include CCTV footage clips showing candidates copying answers from their mobiles.
Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda had released CCTV footage of several centres in Surendranagar where candidates were copying answers from their mobiles. “There have been massive irregularities in the exam, so we demand that the government scrap the exam conducted on November 17 and hold it again with foolproof systems in place,” Mr Chavda said.
Gujarat’s Junior Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja said that the irregularities were being probed and arrests had also been made but ruled out cancellation of the exam and retest.
