Students' group to gherao Jharkhand SSC office on Monday over 'irregularities' in recruitment exam

Ranchi, Dec 14 (PTI) The Jharkhand State Students' Union (JSSU) announced that it would gherao the state SSC office on Monday, demanding the cancellation of the recruitment examination held in September over allegations of malpractices.
    JSSU leader Devendra Mahto made the announcement after the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission on Saturday said that it has called 2,231 shortlisted candidates for document verification between December 16 and 22.
    They qualified for the Jharkhand General Graduate Level Combined Competitive Examination (JGGLCCE) in which 3.04 lakh candidates appeared.
    Mahto said thousands of candidates from all 24 districts would gather in Ranchi on Sunday and gherao the SSC office on Monday.
    "We want immediate cancellation of the verification exercise by the commission," he said.
    The district administration imposed prohibitory orders within the 500-metre radius of the SSC office from 5.30 am on Saturday to 8 pm on December 20 in view of the protest.
    Students have been protesting over the JGGLCC Examinations, through which recruitment is supposed to be made in mostly junior-level posts in the government, alleging that widespread malpractices happened in it.
    A mega demonstration happened outside the SSC office on September 30, demanding the cancellation of the examination.
    The SSC had set up a three-member committee to probe the allegations of malpractices, taking cognisance of the students' complaints.
    Rejecting the allegations, SSC secretary Sudhir Gupta said the examination was conducted in a free and fair manner.
    "The students majorly made five allegations and they provided a CD and a pen drive to back their claims. But, the CD was found to be blank. The commission repeatedly sent notices to submit the original video but it was not provided," he said.
    Gupta said it was alleged that a large number of candidates from outside Jharkhand were declared successful, but it is completely baseless.
    "A total of 2,231 candidates have been invited for verification of certificates, of which 2,145 candidates are residents of Jharkhand," he said.
    Meanwhile, the state BJP demanded a CBI investigation into the alleged malpractice in the examination.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)