Gandhinagar: Panchayat junior clerk recruitment exam in Gujarat has been declared postponed, just hours before the exam was to be conducted today. One person has been held with a question paper prior to the exam early in the morning today, following which this decision has been taken as per the note released by the State government.

Over 9.50 lakh youths had registered for this exam, which was to be conducted from 11 am today across the State. Free return journey to home-town in GSRTC (Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation) buses has been announced for the candidates who are out to appear in the exam already. Free return journey shall be possible by showing the exam ticket and photo identity card.

The Government has in a note released to the media assured that the postponed exam will be conducted soon. Over seven lakh youths were to appear in the exam today. Most of them had already left home for examination centers on the eve of the exam. According to Rajeeka Kacheriya, a member of the Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board, the question paper got leaked from out of Gujarat. She further said, the Selection Board office bearers met early in the morning today and took a tough decision that the exam should be postponed, in order to ensure that only deserving candidates get jobs. In reply to a question she further said that only part of the paper was leaked, but even that is not acceptable. She said the government had put aside blacklisted printing presses and ordered the printing of question papers to a press outside Gujarat.

Meanwhile, it is learned that the paper leak incident came to light in Vadodara, followed by the raids by Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) in which over a dozen persons are held. The trail of a paper leak goes to Andhra Pradesh – Telangana. ATS teams have left for places outside of Gujarat to conduct further raids.

According to ATS Gujarat official Sunil Joshi, ATS was keeping watch through human and technical intelligence for the last few days ahead of the Junior clerk exam. He said ATS has nabbed 15 persons of an interstate gang. He said the government decided to postpone the exam after it was informed about the leak.

It is learned that among those nabbed by Police is a Chaudhary couple from Bihar that was running Stackwise Technology classes in Vadodara for competitive exams.

India’s largest student’ organization Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) which is affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has announced protest in this connection outside the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram later today.

DeshGujarat