ITANAGAR, 9 Nov: The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) expressed its displeasure with CBI’s investigation into the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) question paper leak case.
The party opined that the investigation is not being conducted in a transparent manner.
The party stated that the CBI and other agencies should be accessible to everyone including the media.
“People have the right to know the updates of the investigation and the media also has the right to report it,” the PPA said in a press statement on Wednesday.
It said that a team of the party led by its secretary-general Kaling Jerang on Tuesday, visited the CBI office at Zoo road here, but was denied access to the CBI officials. It further stated that the CBI officials investigating the matter had initially agreed and invited some media persons to brief about the case on 7 November.
“However, when the media persons reached their office, they were denied any audience and instead were asked to seek permission from Delhi,” the party said.
“It was learnt from the people who met the CBI officials at their earlier office at Vivek Vihar area that the premier investigating agency in the country were not being allowed to assess Taket Jerang’s properties and other dealings,” it said.
“The party has information from unofficial sources about the systematic institutionalization of corruption which had been allegedly going on since last many years in these institutions. It is impossible for Taket Jerang (then Dy. Controller of Exam, APPSC) to have single-handedly carried out his nefarious activities without active involvement and patronage from his superiors and those in the higher-ups,” the party alleged.
Stating that there is every possibility of involvement of the high offices in the state, including the CMO in the paper leak case and also the earlier APSSB case, the party demanded that the state government come clean on the issue.
“Both these cases should be investigated thoroughly and the facts of the cases should be brought into the public domain. Even if there is a hint of involvement, these offices should be called for questioning and their role, if any, be investigated,” the party demanded.
The party reiterated its earlier demands placed before the state government, which it said, include broadening the scope of both CBI and SIC investigations to include allegations of malpractices in other examinations conducted by the APPSC and immediate convening of an all-party meeting on the issue.
The party called upon the state government to genuinely address all the demands made by the aggrieved aspirants.
