Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government on Thursday decided to remove and suspend four members of Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), two months after the reported leak of recruitment exam papers, officials said here.
Following the instructions of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, the state government has handed the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which also registered a case and a team of the central probe agency headed by a joint director is in Itanagar now.
After the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Khandu handed over the recommendations of the council of ministry to Governor Brig (retd) B.D. Mishra to invoke the provisions of Article 317 to remove the four members of APPSC, which had conducted the examination for the post of assistant engineer (civil).
The Chief Minister said the state government is determined to initiate the process of cleansing of APPSC in the larger interest of the people of the state.
The state government, from day one, has made its intentions very clear for overhauling the entire APPSC and conducting the examinations for various posts in a free, fair and transparent manner, Kandu said.
So far, 10 persons, including APPSC deputy secretary-cum-deputy controller of examination, have been arrested by the state police for their alleged involvement in the paper leak case.
The Chairman of the Commission, Nipo Nabam, had resigned on October 14 “owning moral responsibility for the omissions and commissions of the officer of the commission” who was responsible for ensuring secrecy and preventing leakage of question papers.
Many organisations, including the Anti-Corruption Foundation, have been demanding the suspension of the APPSC Chairman, Secretary and other officials for the reported leak of question paper ahead of the recent examination for the post of assistant engineer (civil).
They have also demanded a “transparent” probe into the alleged leak.
On August 28, a candidate for the examination had lodged an FIR at the Itanagar police station, complaining that the question paper for the APPSC exam held on August 26 and 27 were leaked.
Meanwhile, the CBI has registered a case against Akhilesh Yadav of the Jeju Institute in Itanagar and unknown officials of APPSC.
“We will summon all the accused persons to join the investigation in the coming days,” a CBI official said.
