APPSC cash-for-job scam: Committee urges GoAP to address demands

Staff Reporter

ITANAGAR, 19 Dec: The Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee-APPSC has appealed to the state government to immediately address the 13-point charter of demands submitted by the All Nyishi Students’ Union (ANSU) in connection with the APPSC cash-for-job scam.

Addressing the media at the press club here on Monday, one of the aspirants, Tadak Nalo, said that the committee had to come before the public again “due to the lackadaisical attitude of the state government” in redressing their demands.

They also sought “clarification of the confusion over the joint steering committee among the public, and the negligence in the investigation process by the SIC.”

Nalo said that the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee-APPSC is an organisation comprising students and aspirants of different examinations under the purview of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). The committee, under the guidance of the ANSU and other organisations, is seeking justice in the matter of the cash-for-job scam.

While expressing appreciation for the CBI team for filing a chargesheet in the AE (civil) examination case, Nalo expressed discontentment over “the slow pace of investigation into other cases relating to the cash-for-job scam,” and said that “the SIC should dig in more to arrest officials of the commission involved in the scam.”

“So far, only Taket Jerang (officer) has been arrested by the SIC. But we are of the firm belief that he (Jerang) is not the only officer from the commission involved. Therefore, the SIC should dig in more to arrest officials from the commission,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the SIC is doing a great job till now,” he added.

Nalo said also that the committee is yet to receive the chargesheet filed by the SIC and the CBI.

“The committee will wait for the copy, which will ultimately disclose the true sense of the investigation carried out by the CBI and the SIC. Moreover, the integrity of the investigating agency will be solely determined on the basis of the chargesheet,” he said.

“The entire cash-for-job scam is unprecedented and we appeal to the public to support the cause. This fight is not confined to the aspirants of today but to build a better path for our future generations,” he said, adding that the total arrests made so far in the case “is just 10 percent of the total.”

Meanwhile, he appealed to the public to donate to the committee to support its legal fight in the court against the arrested accused.

The committee and the ANSU’s demands include “declaring all the exams null and void, wherever question paper was leaked; immediate arrest of the chairman, secretary members, and all the officials of the commission; launching an ED and court-monitored probe; immediate dismissal and termination of the state government officials involved; and conducting any examination by the UPSC.”

It said that the APPSC should not declare a new examination date until the investigation process is completed, and added that a new SOP for the examination should be prepared with the participation of at least two aspirants.

Mudang Yabyang, a PwD candidate, should be appointed to the post of a lecturer at a polytechnic college, and Gyamar Padang should be rewarded for his act of being the whistleblower of the APPSC cash-for-job scam, the committee said.

It further said that the three-member IAS committee report on the AE (civil) paper leakage case should be made public, and that “the three state government officials posted under the APPSC should be recalled.”

The committee also demanded that compensation of Rs 5 lakhs each be paid to all the aggrieved candidates.