Uttarakhand CM Dhami Urges Assembly Speaker to Order High-Level Probe into UKSSSC Scam

GG News Bureau

Dehradun, 2^nd September. In the midst of a squabble over appointments in the Uttarakhand Assembly Secretariat, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday urged Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan to launch a high-level investigation.

Dhami urged Ritu Khanduri in his letter to cancel these appointments if irregularities were found.

In addition, the Chief Minister has urged future Assembly Secretariat appointments to be fair and transparent.

Dhami stated that the state government is taking steps to thoroughly investigate the irregularities made by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission and punish those responsible.

Meanwhile, the Uttarkhand Special Task Force announced on Thursday that one police constable had been arrested in connection with the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) paper leak case.

On the basis of the evidence, police constable Vinod Joshi was arrested.

“During the investigation of the case related to the UKSSSC question paper leak case, on the basis of the statements and evidence of the accused and witnesses arrested earlier, today accused Vinod Joshi resident of Sitarganj Udham Singh Nagar was arrested on the basis of evidence,” said Ajay Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, STF Uttarkhand.

He went on to say that the accused, Vinod Joshi, is currently posted in the Uttarakhand Police in the Udham Singh Nagar district, while his brother, Manoj Joshi, is a Junior Assistant who was arrested earlier. Joshi is currently being held in judicial custody.

The SSP went on to say that the accused Vinod Joshi, along with his brother, were given a house in Kundeshwari the night before the exam to several candidates in the VDO/VPDO recruitment, where the question paper was solved at night by other accused.

He was arrested on suspicion of transporting several examinees from one location to another in his car.

Several selected candidates from the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission met with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the Secretariat on Tuesday, according to officials.

The Chief Minister stated that candidates who passed the examination with the utmost sincerity and hard work would not be disappointed.

“Wherever complaints of irregularities are being received in the recruitment of Subordinate Services Selection Commission, we have ordered a strict inquiry. Some cases have been given to STF and some vigilance has been appointed. Not a single culprit will be spared,” CM Dhami had said.

Earlier on Sunday, CM Dhami confirmed a meeting with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in connection with the irregularities reported in the paper leak case involving the Uttrakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC).

“Since the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha is a constitutional body, I will speak to the Speaker of Legislative Assembly in regards to the reported irregularities,” CM Dhami said.

He went on to say that the investigation will look into all appointments made in the Uttarkhand Vidhan Sabha, regardless of tenure.

“All the appointments, in past or present, wherever the discrepancies have been reported should have unbiased inquiries,” he said adding that there should be a fair investigation into the recruitments done in this manner.

He has also pledged the government’s cooperation in gathering additional information and conducting an investigation into the UKSSSC paper leak case in 2021.

On August 23, Hakam Singh Rawat, the mastermind arrested in connection with the UKSSSC question paper leak, was also charged with misusing government resources.

Rawat was arrested earlier this month for allegedly taking money from candidates in exchange for providing solved question papers in the December 4 and 5 graduate-level examination last year.

Rawat, an Uttarkashi panchayat member, was said to have requested a government helicopter to transport his ailing mother for treatment.

It is also claimed that his mother was treated at the expense of the government by the Disaster Management Relief Fund.

Notably, on August 13, the Special Task Force (STF) detained Rawat in connection with the matter from Arakot on the Himachal border for questioning.

The case concerns a written exam scheduled for December 2021 by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSC). This was one of the commission’s major examinations for 854 positions across 13 departments.

However, there were widespread allegations of irregularities in the test’s administration. Following these allegations, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called for an investigation and harsh punishment for those found guilty. As a result, the secretary of the commission was removed from his position. In addition, a Special Task Force (STF) was formed to investigate the alleged irregularities.

Initially, the unidentified accused was charged by the Dehradun police. The investigation was then turned over to the STF by the Police Headquarters (PHQ).

Since then, 20 people have been arrested in connection with the case. Among these are prominent names such as district panchayat member Hakam Singh. Singh was apprehended near the Mori area near the Himachal Pradesh border on August 7 after returning to the country from a trip abroad.

Gaurav Chauhan, an Additional Private Secretary in the State Secretariat’s Public Works and Forest Department, was also arrested in connection with the case. Several officials and directors of a printing press in Lucknow were also summoned for questioning. This came after a company employee was named a prime suspect in the case following his arrest.