Punjab: Cong MLA Pargat Singh demands probe into cheating racket unearthed in pharmacy exam

Chandigarh: Punjab Congress leader Pargat Singh on Friday demanded an impartial probe into the alleged cheating racket that was recently unearthed in the pharmacy officer recruitment examination conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Slamming the AAP government over the alleged cheating racket, Pargat Singh claimed that examination protocols in conducting the paper were violated and he also questioned the silence of Health Minister Balbir Singh over the issue.

The Punjab Police on June 19 dismantled a highly sophisticated inter-state cheating racket operating during the pharmacy officer examination, which was conducted in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Ferozepur for 454 posts. The police detained seven key conspirators and 28 candidates and also recovered 27 battery-operated wireless cheating devices. The police had detected the use of pen cameras and real-time dictation during the exam.

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Congress seeks probe into exam racket

The racket charged desperate candidates exorbitant sums ranging between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh to guarantee passing marks, according to police investigation. Referring to the cheating racket, Congress MLA and former education minister Pargat Singh demanded the resignation of the health minister and called for a high-level investigation into the matter.

Health Minister Balbir Singh has not even issued a single statement on the matter yet, said Pargat Singh. Accompanied by former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and former MLA Kushaldeep Singh Kikki Dhillon, Pargat Singh also accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of maintaining complete silence, while actively engaging in politics over the NEET exam issue in Delhi.

Pargat raises pharmacy exam concerns

The allegations surrounding the pharmacy recruitment examination, including the operation of a cheating racket, the use of Bluetooth devices, the absence of signal jammers at examination centres and violations of examination protocols, are extremely serious, said the Congress MLA. He noted that the police FIR itself records several significant facts, making an impartial investigation even more necessary.

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Pargat Singh said the Congress views this issue not as a political matter but as a question concerning the future of young people. He said that while the NEET exam paper leak affected lakhs of students across the country, the cheating racket in the pharmacy exam "shattered" the trust of thousands of young people in Punjab. Instead of protecting those responsible, strict legal action should be taken in the matter, he demanded.