BJP seeks SIT probe into Himachal police recruitment exam cheating
Candidates met Chamba DC on Thursday citing irregularities, including discussions inside exam halls and examinees solving papers in groups, at their centres on June 15.
Himachal Pradesh leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Friday accused the Congress government in the state of betraying the youth following allegations of mass cheating and irregularities in the police recruitment examination held on June 15.
Thakur demanded the government immediately constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the irregularities and chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu resign on moral grounds.
“The recruitment process has been reduced to a mockery. Videos show blatant cheating, discussions inside exam halls, and candidates solving papers in groups. This is not just mismanagement, it’s criminal. If the chief minister has any moral standing left, he should step down,” Thakur said at a press conference in Shimla.
“This government shut down the staff selection commission. After two-and-a-half years, it held one police recruitment test, which is now under question. The candidates have submitted video proof of cheating inside exam halls in Shimla, Palampur Road, and Chamba. If the government claims transparency, then why not release the CCTV footage from these centres? What are they afraid of?” Thakur said.
He said there were allegations of mobile phones being allowed inside the examination halls, and that no invigilators stopped students from cheating.
A few candidates met the Chamba deputy commissioner on Thursday alleging cheating at their centres after the district authorities forwarded the details to the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.
The BJP leader said that two accused, Vikram and Balwinder from the Dehra area of Kangra district, had been arrested. “Two arrests cannot cleanse a scam of this magnitude. Reports suggest that candidates were called to Haryana and promised success in the exam in exchange for lakhs of rupees. Transactions of up to ₹35 lakh have been cited. Who made these promises? Who were these candidates? At least 15-16 people were summoned for investigation,” he said.
“In the BJP tenure, when similar allegations emerged, we immediately cancelled the exam and announced an SIT probe. We even handed over cases to the CBI when required. This government is silent and evasive,” Thakur said, adding candidates feared CCTV recordings could be destroyed.
