Rajesh Kumar Behera & Sandeep Dwivedy
Post News Network
Kendrapara / Cuttack, March 15: The Crime Branch is to probe the leak of the question paper of the examination to be held for the recruitment of constables, according to Crime Branch ADG Bijay Kumar Sharma.
The leak Saturday, which was reported by Orissa POST Sunday, forced the cancellation of the examination for the 1370 posts of civil constables, which was to be conducted by the Orissa Police State Selection Board.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjiv Marik in the morning after reports were received from several places about the sale of question papers and even answersheets of the test that was to have started at 11 am Sunday.
“The examination was cancelled after we received reports on leakage of questions papers in some districts,” Marik said after the meeting.
Orissa Police State Selection Board chairman Amrit Mohan Prasad confirmed the cancellation and said the board has started the process of conducting a fresh examination for the recruitment of constables.
“The candidates would be informed through announcements in the media about the new date for the test,” he said.
All the 35 objective-type questions that were in the paper were leaked Saturday evening in most of the parts of Orissa, including Kendrapara. The questions in the paper included ones on the first Indian to bag the Nobel prize, the highest mountain peak in the state, the Sun temple, and the Davis Cup.
Kendrapara SP Satish Kumar Gajbhiye said he brought the leak to the notice of Prasad and later got a message from the headquarters to cancel the examination. Thus, the written test was cancelled as it was about to start, said Gajbhiye.
The SP, however, clarified that the papers had not been leaked from Kendrapara. The question papers were sealed and were found as they had been received at the district, he said.
Several candidates in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other parts of the state have paid between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 for the leaked questions, according to sources.
The last-minute cancellation of the examination has left several candidates disappointed. The candidates said that they had put in a lot of hard work for the examination and all that would now go waste.
