Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 27 Nov: Hardening their stance over the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) paper leak scam, aggrieved aspirants, under the aegis of the Pan-Arunachal Joint Steering Committee-APPSC (PAJSC-APPSC) on Sunday demanded that the government ensure immediate arrest of the then APPSC chairman Nipo Nabam, secretary Jayanta Kumar Ray and other officials, and the member secretaries, accusing them of being involved in the scam.
Addressing journalists during a press conference at the Arunachal Press Club, PAJSC-APPSC member Rakpi Bagra sought to justify why the former APPSC chairman should be arrested.
“In the 2014-’15 paper leak issue, he was member secretary. He became chairman at the end of 2017, and all this fiasco happened under his chairmanship,” Bagra said.
Holding Nabam responsible for the scam, she added that “he is accountable and that’s why the steering committee is demanding his arrest.”
She asked the investigating agencies why Nabam has not yet been interrogated by the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding his role in the paper leak scam.
Stating that they have lost faith in the SIC and the CBI “as there is no transparency and accessibility in the investigation,” the PAJSC-APPSC members demanded a judicial probe, “monitored by the high court and the Enforcement Directorate, alongside the CBI and the SIC.”
The aggrieved aspirants reiterated that they would sit for the examination only if it is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), saying that they have lost faith in the APPSC. They also urged the government to ensure that no exam is conducted until the investigation into the current scam is over.
“We will boycott any exam being conducted by the commission if our demands are not met,” a PAJSC-APPSC member added.
The committee further demanded that, if the APPSC conducts an examination, and even if a single instance of malpractice is found therein, the exam must be declared null and void and re-conducted.
The PAJSC-APPSC said it has submitted a 13-point demand to the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union and the All Nyishi Students’ Union, seeking their support.
Among the other demands of the PAJSC-APPSC is “immediate recall of three state government officials posted under the APPSC, and checking of their background.”
The committee said that, if the government does not meet its demands, it would demand compensation of Rs 5 lakhs each for the aggrieved aspirants who have been affected by the scam.
