New Delhi, March 5: The protest against the alleged paper leak of Staff Selection Commission (SSC) entered the sixth day on Monday. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now initiated an investigation into the matter. A large number of candidates have alleged that there was leak of some of the papers for the SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Tier II Examination that was held from 17 to 21 February 2018.

On 17 February, the SSC had to cancel the second shift of the SSC CGL Tier II exam after malpractices were reported at an exam centre in New Delhi. The students also alleged that mass cheating during the examination.  It must be noted that a total of 1,89,843 candidates appeared for SSC CGL Tier II exam, this year.

On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured that appropriate action will be taken in connection with the alleged Staff Selection Commission scam. As per reports, the students appearing for the exam have alleged the involvement of a private company, which organises the exam, in the paper leak. The matter came to light when the screenshots of the question paper went viral on the social media.

“We welcome Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's decision on CBI probe in alleged #SSCExamsScam. We are not going to call off the protest until a proper format is released, we will see if our demands are being met or not”, Piyush, protesting SSC candidate was quoted by ANI.

In wake of the escalating chaos, the SSC issued a statement saying, "The commission has received a few screenshots in the afternoon of 23.2.2018 of quantitative ability (paper-1) apparently taken on 21.2.2018 at around 12.30 pm belonging to a candidate namely Sachin Chouhan (roll number 2201281955). These snapshots are being circulated after about 48 hours of completion of the CGLE (Tier-II) Examination, 2017 and appear to be manipulated and would have no significance on the sanctity of the examination”. “Earlier also, at around 10.15 am on 21.2.2018, the commission received an information that some of the answer keys of paper I, to be held at 10.30 am on that day of the examination, were being circulated on the social media/e-mails. The commission investigated into the matter and found that the claims were absolutely bogus and baseless”, the statement added.

Meanwhile, SSC chairman Ashim Khurana, in an official statement, later said, "In continuation with the earlier discussions held with the protesting candidates of CGLE 2017, a delegation of the candidates met with the Minister of State, Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances... After hearing the delegation, it was directed by the Hon’ble minister that though the paper 1 of 21.2.2018 was cancelled by the SSC on account of technical issues, to inquire into the allegation of leakage of this cancelled paper, the evidence being provided by the candidates be taken on record and if found substantiated, the matter will be referred to CBI for further enquiry."

Anna Hazare, the anti-corruption crusader met the candidates in Delhi on Sunday and joined the protestors at around 8 o' clock in the morning. Hazare urged the protesters to walk on the path of non-violence and demanded the government to take action in this regard. "While opposing injustice and harassment, it is extremely important to walk on the path of non-violence. This strengthens the democracy," he told the protestors.  "We will wait for the government to take a decision and then see what we need to do. I urge all of you to not get violent in the meantime," he added.

As per reports, screenshots of the question paper of the exam along with answers were found circulating on social media. Candidates have been protesting outside the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) office at CGO complex in Lodhi Road since February 27, 2018. The protesting students were seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged paper leak. On February 24, the SSC released a notice saying that the exam held on February 21 was delayed due to "technical reasons" and will be re-conducted on March 9.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2018 01:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).