Srinagar: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has trained guns at the National Conference after alleged discrepancies surfaced in the results of a written exam conducted last year to fill the posts of constables in Jammu and Kashmir. This was the first such recruitment exam after the Omar Abdullah government was sworn into office.
In a post on X, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti said that “massive discrepancies” have surfaced in the results of the exam which was conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) in December last year for filling up more than 4000 posts of constables in J&K’s home department.
“JKSSB continues jeopardising the future of J&K’s youth. Massive discrepancies in JKP Telecommunications exam where ‘toppers’ [had] fared poorly in the previously held constable exams. The government that rose to power by making lofty promises has conveniently washed their hands off any accountability,” Mufti said.
The National Conference has, however, hit back at the PDP leader, accusing her of stoking “unnecessary controversies” by peddling “half baked statements,” said NC leader and party spokesman Imran Nabi Dar.
“Before criticising the government, her party should understand the context. Rather than creating unnecessary controversies, it would have been better if she had addressed this matter to the LG before blurting out a half baked statement to the media,” he said.
A senior JKSSB official said that the board has taken cognisance of the allegations.
“The results of the exams were declared recently so it would be premature to say anything at this moment. We are looking into the allegations. If any discrepancy comes to the fore, we will take strict action,” the official, who wished not to be named, said.
The JKSSB official asserted that the exams were conducted in a “fair manner with a lot of responsibility and hard work” involving multiple departments of the Union territory, “Questioning the integrity of the entire process is not fair,” the official added.
On July 16 last year, the JKSSB advertised 4002 posts of constables in Executive Police/Armed/IRP/SDRF, Telecommunication and Photography wings of the Union Territory’s home department which is headed by J&K’s lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha.
Three exams were conducted to fill up the posts December 1 onwards. With the Union Territory reeling under one of the highest unemployment rates in the country since 2019, some candidates had appeared in two or all the three exams.
The JKSSB issued the exam syllabus, a copy of which is with The Wire, in a notification on October 3, 2024.
According to the syllabus, 100 marks were allotted to a general aptitude test including numerical and reasoning ability which was held for the posts in the executive and other wings of the home department.
The syllabus of the aptitude test for the posts of constables in Telecommunication and Photography wings was the same but the marks were capped at 60 out of 100, while the remaining 40 marks were allotted to technical questions in the case of these two categories.
Discrepancy in marks
The controversy broke out on Tuesday after some PDP leaders, including Waheed Parra, the youth PDP president and MLA from Pulwama, along with some purported candidates who wrote the exams, claimed on X that the result, which was declared earlier this month by the JKSSB, was full of alleged discrepancies.
Raising questions on the integrity of the exam, Mufti and others pointed out that one Mohd Asif, who topped the ‘Photography’ exam (Roll No 65130124) with 91.25 marks out of 100, had scored only 17.5 marks out of 100 in ‘Telecommunication’ exam.
One Shahied Ahmed, another topper of ‘Photography’ exam with 91.25 marks out of 100, had scored only five marks in ‘Telecommunication’ exam. Similarly, siblings Amir Mirza and Mahvish Mirza who scored 36.25 and 10.75 marks out of 100 in the exam for general constable category managed a whooping 88.75 and 79.50 in telecommunication category which also covered technical questions.
The result of the exam for general category was declared on January 15 and the result of the other two exams was announced on January 20. Some aggrieved candidates have cast aspersions on the integrity of the selection process.
“It is hard to understand how the candidates who fared poorly in the general exam managed to do exceptionally well in the technical exam which needs more knowledge of the subject. The authorities should investigate the matter,” said Tarndeep Singh, an aspirant.
Another aspirant, who didn’t want to be named, said that the authorities should look into the issue without compromising the integrity of the selection list, “If some aspirants have scored low marks in the general exam and high marks in the other two exams, they should be investigated. But those who have done well in both the exams should not be put to any trouble,” he said.
