Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], August 9 : Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Sunday accepted the resignations of three members of the Jharkhand Public Service (JPSC) Commission, in light of the recommendation made by the State Government, the Lok Bhavan said in a statement on Sunday
The resignations of Ajita Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda, and Jamal Ahmed have been accepted.
Earlier today representatives of the Jharkhand government held fresh round of talks in Ranchi with with representatives of various student organisations protesting alleged irregularities in the JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations
Following this the Jharkhand government announced a multi-pronged action plan to address alleged recruitment irregularities.
The measures include a CID probe into alleged irregularities in the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and 2023-25 backlog recruitments, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into suspected financial irregularities, setting up of a fast-track court and formation of an expert committee for recruitment reforms.
Jharkhand Minister Sudivya Kumar Sonu announced the action plan amid intense protests by JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) aspirants over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.
He said the criminal aspects of the alleged irregularities would be investigated by the CID, while the government would also request an ED investigation, citing the financial implications of the matter and alleged evidence of illicit financial transactions.
"Criminal aspects will be investigated by the CID; furthermore, given the financial implications and evidence of illicit financial transactions, a request will be made for an ED investigation," the minister said.
Minister Sonu further said that after the investigation, a fast-track court would be constituted and charge sheets against those found guilty would be filed within 90 days.
"Subsequently, a fast-track court will be constituted, and charge sheets against the accused will be filed within 90 days," he said.
On demands for reforms in the recruitment process, the minister said the government had agreed to constitute an expert committee involving representatives from IIT-ISM, IIM Ranchi and XLRI.
However, the minister said the students continued to demand cancellation of the Combined GRaduate Level (CGL) examination after 2019, which the government could not agree to.
Minister Sonu said the State government had made it clear that it could not unilaterally cancel the exam as it was conducted under the directions of the High Court and the Supreme Court and was currently under judicial monitoring.
Sonu added that instead the government had offered another mechanism to address the students' concerns by proposing a monitoring committee headed by a retired judge.
"The government offered to oversee the investigation by constituting a monitoring committee headed by a retired judge; however, the students refused to accept this proposal," he said.
He said that the government had accepted most of the demands raised by the protesting students.
"We believe the government agreed to 98 per cent of the points raised. The remaining two per cent-specifically the demand to cancel the CGL exam-could not be met because the government cannot unilaterally cancel an exam conducted under court orders, where results have been published, and successful candidates are already employed," Sonu said.
He said the proposed monitoring committee was intended to provide confidence to the students and ensure that their concerns were heard during the investigation.
The minister stated that the government had made efforts to address the concerns of the aspirants and bring the agitation to an end.
The decision was taken after three days of discussions and extensive consultations with the aspirants, following the instructions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The protesters at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi demanded cancellation of all JSSC CGL, JSSC JE, and PGT exams after 2019, a CBI investigation into the irregularities, strict action against the "mafias and agencies involved", disclosure of category-wise cut-offs (UR, EWS, BC-I, BC-II, SC, ST), OMR copies, and response sheets for transparency regarding the process and a recruitment calendar modelled after UPSC/SSC standards.