Chandigarh: The Indian Veterinary Association (IVA) has written to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, alleging that the question paper for an examination to recruit veterinary surgeons in the state was leaked, a remark that came days after Union minister Sanjeev Balyan questioned the functioning of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC).
The examination for the recruitment of veterinary surgeons in Haryana was conducted by the HPSC on 15 January this year.
In a letter written to Khattar on 30 January, IVA president Chirantan Kadian said the association received several complaints from candidates that the question paper for the examination was leaked and sold to some of the aspirants a day before the test was conducted.
“This is causing a lot of resentment among the candidates and also poses a big question on the integrity of the HPSC. This also reflects badly on the Haryana government,” Kadian said in his letter, which also urged that the examination be cancelled. He called for a probe into the allegations.
Kadian told ThePrint that WhatsApp messages based on questions that were to feature in the test were in circulation much before 15 January.
“Candidates have alleged that the leaked question paper was being sold for Rs 10-20 lakh by agents. This is a serious matter and calls for a thorough vigilance probe into the leak of the paper,” he said. The IVA president also said that 26 answers to questions in the paper were marked incorrectly in a key provided by the commission, which proved that there were irregularities in the entire process. His claim was consistent with what Balyan said at an event in Hisar on Saturday.
Alok Verma, chairman of the HPSC, said he was unaware of any such letter by the IVA. When contacted again by ThePrint after being sent a copy of the IVA letter, Verma rejected all allegations.
“Allegations like this have never been brought to my or the commission’s notice before or after the conduct of the examination,” Verma said.
Kadian’s remarks came days after Balyan, the Union minister of state for fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairying, raised questions over the commission’s ability to conduct examinations.
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‘Got calls’
Dharampal Attri, who took the test held on 15 January, said many candidates received phone calls from people who claimed to have access to the question paper before the examination.
“My friends and I initially thought that these were fake calls. But after the examination, we realised from WhatsApp chats in our friends’ groups that some of the candidates had access to the questions before the examination,” Attri told ThePrint.
“After I realised that certain people had the question paper before the exam was conducted, I wrote emails to various people, including the home secretary, the vigilance bureau, and the chief minister,” Attri said.
He shared details of the WhatsApp messages and screenshots of the emails he wrote with ThePrint.
Reacting to the allegation of wrong answers being marked in the key, Verma said the commission issued a clarification soon after Balyan’s remarks.
“The written test for the post of veterinary surgeons was held on January 15. The commission vide its announcement dated January 23 uploaded the standard question booklet and the answer key on its website and advised the candidates to file their objections, if any, latest by January 25. This is the standard practice followed by the commission in all its exams. The commission is collating all these objections and will shortly send them to the experts for their views/comments. If needed, the answer key will be revised as per the advice of the expert committee and accordingly, the result of the written test will be prepared,” the HPSC said in a statement.
On Saturday, Balyan, a Jat leader from western Uttar Pradesh, questioned recruitment exams conducted for agriculture development officers (ADO) and veterinary surgeons.
The HPSC, the government agency responsible for recruitments to Group A and Group B posts (posts of gazetted officers) in the state, conducted both exams.
Meanwhile, in a clarification issued on Tuesday, the HPSC termed as fake a message being shared on social media regarding the withdrawal of 600 posts of ADO and refund of the fee to the examinees. Clarifying that the message was fake, the HPSC said the posts withdrawn were those advertised in 2021 and the number stood at 500. The recruitment process for the 600 posts advertised recently was still active, it said.
(Edited by Nisheeth Upadhyay)
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