BPSC 70th CCE ‘paper leak’ case reaches Supreme Court; over 50% skip retest

NEW DELHI: The BPSC 70th CCE paper leak matter has reached the Supreme Court amid the ongoing protest demanding cancellation of the exam. Controversy erupted as Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who was on a fast-unto-death at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, was arrested early on Monday.

Kishor launched his fast-unto-death agitation on January 2 in support of the civil service aspirants who have been demanding the cancellation of the BPSC exam held on December 13.

Patna District Magistrate (DM) Chandrashekhar Singh said, "Yes, Kishor and his supporters, who were on a dharna at Gandhi Maidan, were arrested by police on Monday morning. They will be produced before a court." The DM said their demonstration was "illegal" as they were holding it near the restricted site.

Chandrashekhar Singh told the PTI that 43 supporters of Kishor were detained during the operation, and 15 vehicles, including three tractors, were seized. "Of the 43 detained persons, the identities of 30 have been verified. It was found that not a single person among them is a student or BPSC aspirant," Singh claimed.

A petition seeking the cancellation of the December 13 BPSC prelims and action against officials accused of using force against the aspirants during protests was recently filed in the Supreme Court, he said.

BPSC exam controversies

Controversy erupted after the Bihar Public Service Commission introduced a new exam pattern for the 70th Combined Competitive Examination (BPSC 70th CCE) and announced to hold the exam in multiple shifts. Opposing the changes, aspirants started staging protests demanding for a single day exam. Some also claimed to have faced technical difficulties while submitting their applications, which resulted in them losing their chance to appear.

Rubbishing the claims of aspirants, the BPSC said out of the 4 lakh applicants, more than 1.30 lakh applications were received along with fees in the last 4 days of registration process. It also refused to postpone the BPSC exam stating that it will delay the recruitment process by 5 to 6 months.

A full-bench meeting was held by the commission in December end and decided to conduct the BPSC retest for 70th CCE on January 4 at 22 new exam centres. Of 12,012 candidates eligible for the retest, 8,111 downloaded their BPSC admit cards, and 5,943 appeared for the exam, ie. 49%. The decision was taken after hundreds of students boycotted the test alleging that the test booklet seal was broken.

Meanwhile, several aspirants have also been demanding retest for around 4.80 lakh candidates who sat for the test.