HYDERABAD: Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) chairman Dr B Janardhan Reddy on Tuesday stated that confidential information, namely the question papers, had been leaked by insiders who illegally accessed the internet protocol and passwords. He said a decision to cancel the recruitment examination held on March 5 for the positions of Assistant Engineers (AE), Municipal Assistant Engineers, Technical Officers and Junior Technical Officers in various engineering departments would be made after receiving a report from investigating authorities and legal opinion. Sources said the decision regarding the cancellation of recruitment exams is likely to be taken on Wednesday.
The Group 1 recruitment’s preliminary examination conducted by the TSPSC has come under scrutiny after the paper leakage scandal involving Pulidindi Praveen Kumar, who secured 103 marks out of a total of 150 marks. TSPSC has neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of leakage in the Group 1 preliminary examination.
Speaking to TNIE, Janardhan Reddy, who is a retired IAS officer, said, “It is too early to arrive at any conclusion. We have asked the police to investigate the matter. The forensic audit of the digital devices seized from the possession of the accused will provide more information. Without a proper inquiry, we cannot admit or dispute anything. Let us wait for some time.”
Praveen Kumar’s Group 1 Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet was widely circulated on social media platforms, revealing that he had incorrectly circled the test booklet number, resulting in his disqualification. Despite this, he managed to score 103 marks, which was one of the top scores in the preliminary exam. When asked about the security of the question papers, Janardhan Reddy stated that he could not disclose confidential information that may potentially lead to a security breach.
“We assure complete confidentiality to job aspirants and advise them to focus on their preparation without getting carried away by rumours or fake news. We are closely monitoring the situation and reevaluating our entire system. In addition, we have consulted with cyber security experts to identify any vulnerabilities and are committed to implementing robust software and hardware mechanisms to prevent such incidents from happening in the future,” he said.
Addressing a press conference later in the day, Janardhan Reddy expressed anguish over the unfortunate incident and the rumours that were making rounds on social media platforms. He categorically rejected the allegations of his family members appearing for the exam. “My daughter didn’t write the exam as is being wrongly circulated (in social media),” he clarified.
He explained that the TSPSC was the first to act on the tip-off regarding the paper leakage, and promptly requested multiple government bodies, including the police, to investigate the matter. As a precautionary measure, the Town Planning and Building Overseer (TPBO) recruitment examination which was scheduled for March 12 was also postponed.
He also highlighted that the TSPSC introduced multiple jumbling of question papers and sequence of answers for the first time in the country in the Group-1 preliminary exam held on October 16. This was done to ensure transparency in the examination, which was attended by around 2.8 lakh candidates.
SIT CCS to investigate
Hyderabad CP CV Anand has transferred the case related to the recruitment examination question paper leakage from the Begum Bazaar police station to the Special Investigation Team, Central Crime Station, under Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) AR Srinivas. The transfer is effective immediately. The police have arrested nine individuals in connection with the case, and they have been remanded to judicial custody. The SIT CCS is expected to seek custody of all the accused persons for further investigation.
Leaked question paper details
The question paper for recruitment of Assistant Engineer (AE), Municipal AE, Technical Officer and Junior Technical Officers in various engineering departments were leaked.
The notification was meant to fill 837 vacancies. As many as 74,478 applied, of which 68,257 candidates downloaded the hall tickets.