Gujarat forest guard recruitment exam candidate detained with sheet with answers

AHMEDABAD: A candidate was detained from a centre in Gujarat's Mehsana district for allegedly possessing a sheet with answers to questions asked in the forest guard recruitment exam conducted on Sunday. The examination was conducted by Gujarat University on behalf of the state forest department between 12 noon and 2 pm.

State education minister Jitu Vaghani said an investigation was being conducted to ascertain whether it was a case of paper leak, while maintaining it was more of a copying incident. The opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party called it a failure of the Gujarat government and a well-organised conspiracy. The AAP said its youth wing will hand over a memorandum to the collectors of all 33 districts demanding proper and thorough investigation and strict action against those responsible.

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Vaghani maintained that, as per primary information received by him, it was a case of copying at an exam centre in Mehsana's Unava village, and action has been taken against a candidate. He added that making it look like a paper leak without proper investigation is "an organised effort to defame the government and mislead the state's youth". "The Gujarat government is always prepared to take swift action against paper leak cases. The government is taking all efforts to ensure competitive exams are conducted with authenticity," he told reporters.

An official release said a candidate went out for a toilet break between 1:45pm and 1:50pm, and when he returned and was searched, the invigilator found in his possession a paper with all the answers keyed into it. "At first glance, it is an incident of a copy case, and action has been taken accordingly as per the rule. It does not appear to be a case of paper leak," said a note issued by the district information department.

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This comes within a few months after a question paper of an exam for the recruitment of government head clerks got leaked in December, leading to the arrest of several people. Similarly, several persons were arrested in a paper leak connected to the state police constable recruitment exam in 2019. "Exam paper leak cases have become a norm in the BJP government. If the state government cannot conduct an exam impartially, then it should give up the responsibility and hand it over to youth like us. We are prepared to conduct an exam without any scam," AAP youth wing president Praveen Ram said.

Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said the government was playing with the future of the youth in the state. "Corruption in government recruitment is closely connected to the ruling BJP. The paper leak cases are a part of well organised conspiracy," Doshi said.