Laws not plugging exam paper leaks, action must

A crucial recruitment drive by Odisha Police has ended with a massive scam and a huge embarrassment for the state government.

The now-cancelled Combined Police Services Examination aimed to recruit, among others positions, sub-inspectors.

However, on September 30, days before the written test, Berhampur police intercepted three buses and arrested 114 aspirants and three middlemen who were allegedly on their way to Vizianagaram to get access to the test questions for ₹15-25 lakh.

A week and much political uproar later, the crime branch has taken over investigation and started looking for the kingpin of an inter-state crime syndicate believed to be behind the scam.

Two consequential aspects must be borne in mind. First, the recruitment of entry-level police officers was up for sale, pointing at the chain of corruption the scam, if it went undetected, could have triggered.

Second, the bust has exposed the casual manner in which the recruitment process was being conducted.

The Odisha Police Recruitment Board had awarded the contract to conduct the all-important exam to ITI, the central public sector undertaking, which in turn sub-contracted two private fi rms in the state.

After the scam was unearthed, the two local fi rms have come under the scanner.

According to an intelligence report, the promoter of one of them even has a criminal record.

A due diligence of the two companies would have spared the blushes for Odisha Police and the state government. Instead, more allegations of collusion are being aired.

What’s even more worrying is that the same examination was postponed in March over similar allegations; clearly, no lessons were learnt.

Paper leaks in several states led to the enactment of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 at the national level.

Odisha, too, has its own law.

However, the menace refuses to relent. The state government must ensure that those behind the current scam are exposed and taken to task without delay. It must also put in place a strong oversight mechanism and fix responsibility on the state agencies.

Lakhs of youngsters look forward to government jobs every year, and any compromise on the integrity of the recruitment process will lead to a huge trust deficit in the system. That should not be an option.