TSPSC paper leak scam: SIT to investigate; clamor grows for chairman's resignation

Hyderabad: Hyderabad City Police transferred the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) question paper leak case to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Headed by Additional Commissioner (Crimes & SIT) AR Srinivas, the SIT will conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

TSPSC has already canceled exams for the town planning building overseer and veterinary assistant surgeon posts due to suspected hacking. It will decide the fate of the assistant engineer (civil) exam held on March 5.

TSPSC Chairman B Janardhan Reddy said the commission would discuss the police report and decide on cancellation or re-examination based on the legal opinion.

“The individuals involved in the TSPSC exam scam including two staff members would be terminated from the service. Additionally, all question papers will be rewritten following the incident,” he said.

Job aspirants, student activists, and political groups held protests outside the TSPSC, RTC X Roads, and Osmania University over the alleged paper leak scam. They demanded the resignation of TSPSC Chairman Janardhan Reddy and a re-examination.

TSPSC Chairman defended the commission's procedures as being transparent and objective. He expressed shock over the involvement of insiders in the question paper leak. He attributed it to the commission's increased workload and shortage of staff, which led to his trust in all employees.

During the investigation, it was discovered that Assistant Section Officer Pulidindi Praveen Kumar and a network expert named Atla Rajasekhar Reddy had gained unauthorized access to confidential question papers using the login credentials of other employees.

They allegedly sold the question paper for the March 5 exam to a government Hindi teacher and her husband from Mahaboobnagar for Rs 10 lakh. A police constable helped them find potential candidates, and the question paper was eventually sold for Rs 13.5 lakh to two individuals who appeared for the exam. Furthermore, it was revealed that Kumar himself had also appeared for the exam.

Praveen, who was appointed on compassionate grounds, has been suspended immediately, and Rajasekhar Reddy's employment has been terminated.

To ensure the security of its computer systems, TSPSC has taken steps to enhance its cybersecurity measures. Dr. B Janardhan Reddy urged government job aspirants and unemployed youth not to worry about the fairness and transparency of future examinations. He said exams will be conducted with the utmost transparency and fairness.

Governor Tamilisai Sounderarajan has also called for a report from the TSPSC within 48 hours and assured stringent action against those involved.

Anti-Copying Measures

To prevent copying during the recruitment examination, a new measure has been introduced. The multiple-choice-based paper will have jumbled questions and choices. It means that the questions will not be in the same order for all applicants. This change aims to make it difficult for candidates to copy answers from each other.

TSPSC Recruitment Update

Around 30 lakh individuals have registered on the TSPSC website through 'one-time registration' which allows them to apply for multiple posts. As of now, 26 job notifications have been issued, covering a total of 17,134 posts in seven exams.

This number is lower than the recruitment for 35,000 posts in the previous seven years. The recruitment process this year aims to fill 23,000 positions across 45 categories.