TSPSC cancels assistant engineers exam following question paper "leak"

HYDERABAD: The Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) on Wednesday cancelled the Assistant Engineers (AE) exam held on March 5, following allegations of the question paper leaking even as protests by different students' organisations continued for the second day here. The decision to cancel the recruitment test was taken after examining the FIR registered with regard to the leakage of question paper, the Commission said on Wednesday night. The fresh date for conducting the exam would be announced later, it said.

Meanwhile, state Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao urged the state DGP to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter. Responding to allegations on social media that one of the accused in the question paper leak case is a BJP activist, Rama Rao claimed that the BJP seems to have hatched a conspiracy to destroy the lives of innocent youth. "Even by the very low standards of BJP, this is vulgarity at its worst. Just to malign Telangana Govt, BJP seems to have hatched a conspiracy to destroy the lives of innocent youth. I request the @TelanganaDGP Garu to enquire this matter thoroughly and bring perpetrators to justice," Rama Rao tweeted.

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Earlier, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) of Aam Aadmi Party Telangana unit and SFI assembled in front of the TSPSC office here holding placards and raised slogans demanding the resignation of the TSPSC chairman B Janardhan Reddy. The protesting students also demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge and stringent punishment for those responsible for leaking the question paper. The protesters squatted on the road and some of them attempted to lay siege to the TSPSC office. Around 80 protesters from these organisations were taken into preventive custody by the police, a police official said.

Similarly, activists of the Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) and PYL held a protest rally in Khammam district over the issue. There were reports of protests from Adilabad and Nizamabad districts too. Police imposed section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the area around the TSPSC office from today citing law and order issue and in view of the protests.

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The Police had arrested BJYM state president A Bhanu Prakash and six others on Tuesday in connection with the protest after booking a case against them. Nine people, including an Assistant Section Officer in TSPSC, two candidates and a police constable, were arrested on Monday over their alleged involvement in the data breach, for stealing and leaking of TSPSC's Assistant Engineer (Civil) examination question paper. The exam was held on March 5.

The case of question paper leak regarding the Assistant Engineer (Civil) exam conducted by the Commission was on Tuesday transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Hyderabad Police for further investigation and a police team visited the TSPSC office as part of its probe today. Police are investigating if there any more people involved in the case and whether any other question papers had also leaked.