By PTI
CHANDIGARH: Seven more people were arrested in connection with the paper leak during the Haryana Police constable recruitment examination held on August 7, while the Congress reiterated its demand for a high-court monitored CBI probe into the case.
The total number of people apprehended in the case has gone up to 14, they said.
Amid reports of a paper leak, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) on Saturday had cancelled the written examination for the recruitment of police constables.
Saturday was the first day of the examination and candidates appeared in the paper across 35 centres in the state in two shifts.
Papers were scheduled for Sunday also, but later these too were cancelled.
Seven more people were arrested in connection with the paper leak case, a Haryana police statement said.
The police arrested Sandeep (23), Gautam (25), both residents of Khapar in Jind and Naveen (27) of Pyoda, from Mata Gate Kaithal.
The answer key of Haryana Police constable’s written examination was also recovered from their possession, according to the police.
During the course of investigation, the police also arrested Ramesh (42), a resident of village Thua from Kaithal, and Rajesh (26) from Ambala, an official statement said.
“It has also come to light that accused Ramesh runs a coaching centre in Kaithal,” the statement said.
After interrogation, the sixth member of their gang, Narendra (31), a resident of Hisar, was also arrested from Sirsa.
“The investigation revealed that the answer key was provided to Ramesh by Narendra on the night of August 6. It also came to light that the answer key was obtained by Narendra by making a deal of Rs 1 crore. Ramesh and his other associates had decided to give it to others for Rs 12-18 lakh,” the statement said.
During the investigation, it was revealed that the gang members had provided the answer key to a few people through WhatsApp and they took advance cheques from some of them.
The police said they are constantly raiding the locations to arrest other members.
Attacking the BJP government in the state, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded a high-court monitored CBI probe into the paper leak case.
Talking to reporters here, Surjewala said the Khattar government and the Staff Selection Commission spend Rs 25 crore every year on “secrecy of exam”.
“So, where does this money go? The contract to conduct the paper has allegedly been given to a Hyderabad-based company. It is natural that a contract for conducting all the future examinations would also have been given to this company. Since, the said company as also the entire Staff Selection Commission is under the direct needle of suspicion, how can a fair investigation be conducted and who, if any, will be punished?” he asked.
He alleged that “absurd, idiotic and baseless questions” were asked in Haryana Police recruitment exam, which have no relation with the duties and functions of job of a police constable.
“In fact, by asking such questions, the Khattar government is executing a conspiracy to select a favoured few perhaps with advance knowledge of the nature of wholly irrelevant questions that would be asked. The way in which the question paper was set and then got leaked and sold is a cruel joke with the future of Haryana’s youth,” the Congress leader said.
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