Recruitment List Goes Missing In Karnataka; KPSC Files Police Complaint
The foul play in the recruitment drive has become a frequent occurrence. Recently, the cancellation of UP Police constable and Bihar teacher recruitment exams, among others, show the stark reality of misconduct and involvement of cheating gangs in the exams at a larger scale. Similar incident from Karnataka raises questions on the integrity and fairness of the recruitment drives all across the nation.
In Karnataka, following the reported disappearance of the recruitment selection list for Junior engineers from the office premises, the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) filed a police complaint at Vidhana Soudha police station. No specific individual was named in the complaint but police affirmed the investigation with the cooperation of KPSC.
The missing file
The complaint mentions that a recruitment notification was issued by the Karnataka slum development board for 9 junior engineer positions in August 2016 followed by a recruitment process. Subsequently, the selection list was released which was challenged in the High Court, citing its integrity, by Vivek Ananda, one of the job aspirants.
The High Court directed KPSC to oversee the preparation of a new list through a confidential branch (Branch – 3) of the commission. Following the court’s directives, a new list was forwarded to the KPSC secretary on January 22, 2024, for further administrative procedure. However, the document became inaccessible, causing an unforeseen delay in the recruitment procedure, the FIR stated.
Probe initiated
The case has been registered under the IPC Section 380 (theft) and a probe has been initiated, Inspector B Kumara Swamy said. The CCTV footage of the office will also be checked. The police official suggested the involvement of an inside person behind the missing file.
In response to the missing document, a search operation was initiated by KPSC officials across all the branches of the commission’s office.
Other recruitment malpractice in the state
An additional investigation is also going on police sub-inspector recruitment in the state which involves two cheating gangs operating in Kalaburagi. A BJP leader Divya Hagargi was alleged to be involved in answer sheet tempering with the assistance of invigilators while they were under the custody of the recruitment department.
Government initiative to curb cheating
Union Minister Jitendra Singh introduced ‘The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024’ to prevent the use of unfair means in public examination. When passed the bill will help in curbing leaks and cheating in recruitment examinations and entrance tests such as UPSC, SSC, NEET, JEE, and CUET.
The bill aims to bring transparency, fairness and credibility in the government examination system. It promotes the genuine efforts of youths by rewarding and protecting the entrance procedure for higher studies or employment.
