By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 29 Sep: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today took a major initiative in reaching out to the agitating youth at the Parade Ground here, as well as announced his decision to recommend a CBI inquiry into the alleged paper leak.
The CM reached the Parade Ground, here, where a large number of youths have been staging a sit-in dharna for the past eight days demanding a CBI probe into the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) paper leak. After listening to their grievances, Dhami announced that the government would recommend a CBI investigation into the matter so that there remains no doubt or mistrust in the minds of the youths.
Addressing the gathering, Dhami asserted that the government is committed to ensuring a transparent recruitment process and does not want the youth to carry any suspicion regarding examinations. He added that, while a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the chairmanship of retired High Court judge UC Dhyani is already conducting an inquiry and collecting facts, the government has accepted the demand for a CBI investigation as well. He assured that no hurdle would be placed in the process.
Dhami remarked that the discussion could have been held in his office but, considering the hardships of the youths protesting in the heat during the festive season, he chose to meet them directly at the protest site. He further said that, over the last four years, the government has made more than 25,000 recruitments in a transparent manner without any complaints, and it is only in this one case that irregularities have surfaced. To remove all doubts from the minds of the candidates, the government has decided to go for a CBI inquiry.
The Chief Minister said that he understands the aspirations of the students and youths of Uttarakhand, who study diligently and prepare for government service with dreams of building their future. He emphasised that he had experienced such circumstances while working among students and thus felt their pain. Dhami also assured that, if any cases have been filed against the protesting youths during the agitation, these would be withdrawn. He reiterated that the role of the youth would be pivotal in making Uttarakhand the leading state of India in the Amrit Kaal of a developed nation.
It may be recalled that, earlier, the state government had constituted an SIT headed by SP, Rural, Jaya Baluni and a one-member judicial commission headed by Justice (Retd) UC Dhyani to investigate the paper leak. The SIT has already arrested the main accused, Khalid, along with his sister Sabia, while Assistant Professor Suman Chauhan, the Sector Magistrate of the Haridwar examination centre, and two policemen have been suspended for their alleged involvement.
It may also be recalled that this controversy had emerged on 21 September when the UKSSSC conducted a written examination for graduate-level posts. Three pages of the question paper from an examination centre in Bahadurpur Jatt village of Laksar, Haridwar, were leaked even when the test was in progress and went viral on social media, creating uproar. Investigations revealed that Khalid Malik had forwarded the questions from after clicking the paper with his mobile phone to Assistant Professor Suman Chauhan to solve them, through his sister Sabia. Instead of informing the authorities, Suman Chauhan allegedly leaked the details to Bobby Panwar and the office bearers of the Berozgar Sangathan and has since been suspended.
Sector Magistrate KN Tiwari, who was also Project Director at the Rural Development Agency, was suspended after the episode, while Sub-Inspector Rohit Kumar and Constable Brahmdatt Joshi, deployed at the same centre, have been also placed under suspension for their lapses.
