SSC exam paper leak protests spread to Rajasthan, stir continues in Delhi

JAIPUR: Protests against the alleged leak of Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examination paper, that started off in the national capital, gained momentum in other parts of the country with aspirants taking to streets in Jaipur to showcase their agitation against the commission.

On Monday, students in large numbers protested at a city-based mall for about two hours before they were pushed back by the local police as they did not have permission for the same.

The agitation took place a week after turbulence stirred in Delhi as the commission has yet not agreed to the demand for a CBI probe and changing of vendor appointed for conducting the exam.

"Several students have been selected from one centre in Jaipur. This shows there were some discrepancies. The commission has verbally agreed to a CBI probe but has not issued anything in writing. Hence, the protest continues until further action is taken," said Chetan Chaudhary, a city-based candidate.

According to sources, the protesters have received an official permission to hold a demonstration and will be holding one at a large scale on Tuesday at Jyoti Nagar.

It is to be noted that several city-based candidates also travelled to Delhi to support the cause. Also, the issue has become national as similar protests are being held in several cities across the country.

Aspirants are suspecting a scam in the examination, stemming from the leak of the question paper that had surfaced on February 21. Following this, the SSC, on its website, cancelled the February 21 examination, rescheduling it to March 9. Moreover, the SSC conducts examinations to recruit non-gazetted staff for central ministries and other institutions.

On the same day, thousands of SSC aspirants had taken to streets in Bihar's capital Patna, carrying banners and posters in their hands.

In order to prevent any law and order situation, the Patna administration had deployed a large number of policemen on the streets of Patna. 

Giving in to their demands, the government on Monday ordered an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the SSC question papers leak case.

(With inputs from DNA)