Alleged JKSSB FAA & JE Recruitment Scam, High level Committee completes probe
JAMMU, Aug 9: A high-level Committee constituted by the Government to examine leakage of question papers or other irregularities, if any, in the Financial Accounts Assistants (FAAs) and JE Civil, has finalized its recommendations and will be submitting them to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha anytime now.
“The recommendations have been finalized by the Committee after more than a month of investigations and the Panel is now ready with the report. The findings will be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor either tomorrow or a day after,” official sources told the Excelsior.
The Panel was headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) RK Goyal and comprised Principal Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD) Manoj Dwivedi and Secretary Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs Achal Sethi.
On June 9, the Lieutenant Governor had ordered probe into allegations of exam leak in Sub Inspectors of Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB). After getting a report from the Inquiry Committee, the LG ordered cancellation of the exam on July 8 and recommended probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI).
Few days back, the CBI had conducted raids at 30 locations and registered First Information Report (FIR) against 33 persons including three former officers/officials of SSB, one Medical Officer of the BSF, former CRPF official, an ASI of Police, two kin of a BJP leader and the Bangalore-based Agency which took the exam among others
“The Government had later asked the same Inquiry Committee which went into the allegations of paper leaks of Police Sub Inspectors to inquire similar charges in the exams of FAAs and JE Civil taken by the SSB through same agency of Bangalore,” sources said.
Significantly, they pointed out, all three written exams—Sub Inspectors in Jammu and Kashmir Police, FAAs and JE Civil were conducted by the SSB through MeritTrac Services Private Limited Bengaluru in the month of March and there were indications that something had definitely gone wrong in all three papers.
However, a decision on the FAAs and JE Civil examinations will be taken by the Government after considering recommendations of the high-powered committee in next few days, sources said.
Merit list of FAAs for 972 posts has been declared while that of JE Civil for 103 posts is yet to be announced. Uproar over merit list of FAAs surfaced after leakage in the exams of Sub Inspectors in Jammu and Kashmir Police was almost confirmed even before the Inquiry Panel submitted its report confirming that the written paper was leaked.
Candidates whose selection is almost confirm after declaration of merit list of FAAs by the Services Selection Board have been regularly holding protests in Jammu, Srinagar and other areas demanding that the list shouldn’t be cancelled. Merit list of JE Civil is yet to be released.
The Government has so far not blacklisted MeritTrac Services Private Limited though a decision has been taken that further exams of the SSB will not be conducted through it unless it is cleared by the CBI. Sources, however, said that some formalities have to be completed before undertaking such an exercise.
On whether some more examinations conducted by the same recruitment agency which has been booked by the CBI will be under scanner, sources said a decision on this can be taken only by the Government.
Sources said the Government will take a call on whether to cancel written examination of FAAs and JE Civil or after going through recommendations of the high-powered committee set up by it.
