Times of India: Jaipur: Sunday,
5 January 2025.
Rajasthan Public Service
Commission (RPSC) has come under fire from the state police's Special
Investigation Team (SIT) for allegedly obstructing their investigation into the
SI paper leak case.
The SIT report has said RPSC "withheld" crucial information from the SIT under the pretext of confidentiality. This cover-up attempt hindered the investigation, which already saw two RPSC members Babulal Katara and Ramu Ram Raika arrested for their alleged involvement in the scandal.
The SIT sought details on exam notifications and normalisation of marks used during the recruitment process. However, their requests were met with resistance from RPSC. The report says during the three-day exam from Sept 13 to 15, 2021, over 53% selected candidates took the exam on Sept 15.
"When SIT requested details on how normalisation was applied to the marking system, RPSC refused to share the information, claiming confidentiality," the SIT report said, adding, "This information should be publicly accessible, but it has been withheld."
SIT also accused RPSC of violating the Right to Information (RTI) Act by disregarding applications filed by candidates who suspected irregularities immediately after the examination. It highlights that candidates who raised concerns about procedural irregularities, such as paper leaks and use of dummy candidates, filed RTI applications seeking clarity on different procedural aspects and legal action taken by RPSC. However, RPSC denied these requests, citing sections of RTI Act that protect information tied to confidentiality. The SIT report also points out that this kind of information is meant to be public. Documents related to procedural formalities cannot be protected under confidentiality.
The report alleged RPSC deliberately withheld information in violation of RTI provisions. RPSC withholding information significantly delayed SIT's efforts to investigate candidates suspected of using leaked papers or dummy candidates. Out of 859 candidates selected, SIT completed investigations on only about 150, resulting in 45 arrests so far.
"Despite RPSC claiming it conducted CCTV surveillance during the examinations, we have not been provided the videography from several centres under investigation," sources within SIT said.
The SIT report has said RPSC "withheld" crucial information from the SIT under the pretext of confidentiality. This cover-up attempt hindered the investigation, which already saw two RPSC members Babulal Katara and Ramu Ram Raika arrested for their alleged involvement in the scandal.
The SIT sought details on exam notifications and normalisation of marks used during the recruitment process. However, their requests were met with resistance from RPSC. The report says during the three-day exam from Sept 13 to 15, 2021, over 53% selected candidates took the exam on Sept 15.
"When SIT requested details on how normalisation was applied to the marking system, RPSC refused to share the information, claiming confidentiality," the SIT report said, adding, "This information should be publicly accessible, but it has been withheld."
SIT also accused RPSC of violating the Right to Information (RTI) Act by disregarding applications filed by candidates who suspected irregularities immediately after the examination. It highlights that candidates who raised concerns about procedural irregularities, such as paper leaks and use of dummy candidates, filed RTI applications seeking clarity on different procedural aspects and legal action taken by RPSC. However, RPSC denied these requests, citing sections of RTI Act that protect information tied to confidentiality. The SIT report also points out that this kind of information is meant to be public. Documents related to procedural formalities cannot be protected under confidentiality.
The report alleged RPSC deliberately withheld information in violation of RTI provisions. RPSC withholding information significantly delayed SIT's efforts to investigate candidates suspected of using leaked papers or dummy candidates. Out of 859 candidates selected, SIT completed investigations on only about 150, resulting in 45 arrests so far.
"Despite RPSC claiming it conducted CCTV surveillance during the examinations, we have not been provided the videography from several centres under investigation," sources within SIT said.