NEWS

SSC Exam Scam: 1 person, 700 admit cards; fraudster caught on audio

Swaraj India on Friday made a strong plea for an independent inquiry into recruitments made by the Staff Selection Commission and revealed that 700 admit cards had been issued to just one candidate

NH photo by Vipin
NH photo by Vipin Swaraj India party chief Yogendra Yadav addressing the media with copies of 700 different admit cards issued to one candidate named Sandeep 

The Staff Selection Commission, as reported by us yesterday, did not issue only 21 Admit Cards to Sandeep. They actually issued more than 700 of them. At least 700 Admit cards in his name, with the same photograph and at the same examination centre but with different roll numbers and addresses were produced by Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India at a press conference on Friday.

SSC Chairman Ashim Khurana in fact conceded in an interview that the Admit Cards were indeed issued by the Commission. The explanation given to him was that the Commission wanted to nab the culprit. But in that case, asked Yadav, did the SSC file a complaint with the police? The answer was in the negative, he added.

Even more seriously, Swaraj India on Friday produced more material evidence to warrant a probe into the examinations and selection conducted by the Commission.

The Swaraj India Party chief played an audio conversation, between a candidate and someone claiming to be an employee in the Commission, in which the unidentified employee demands a bribe of ₹50,000 from the candidate who had secured 39 marks against the cut-off mark of 41.

Published: 09 Mar 2018, 5:40 PM IST

In the video, more than a week before the protests by unemployed youth began on February 21, the employee after verifying with the candidate his name and roll number is overheard saying, “you have scored 39 marks while the cut-off is 41. If you are willing to spend (some money), you can still be selected.” The candidate asks, “how much?” “₹25,000 now and ₹25,000 after you are selected,” the man replies.

On being told by the candidate that many of his friends were receiving similar phone calls but the SSC had refused to confirm the result, the alleged employee appears to run out of patience and says, “just tell me if you want to get selected or not.” “Once you agree to pay, a senior will get in touch with you and you will for sure be selected,” the man goes on to claim.

Published: 09 Mar 2018, 5:40 PM IST

Another such video was posted on YouTube by a different candidate on the same day, February 13

Published: 09 Mar 2018, 5:40 PM IST

“This audio clip cannot be an evidence to claim that SSC is a corrupt body. But even if somebody is doing such things in their name, isn’t it obligatory for them to file an FIR and get the matter investigated,” the Swaraj India party chief wondered aloud.

Published: 09 Mar 2018, 5:40 PM IST

SSC-MTS (Multi Task Staff) exam originally began in 2016. Held in two tiers, the preliminary exam was completed in 2016 but mains was only conducted in 2017. Before the tier-II (mains) paper could be evaluated and results were declared, SSC issued notices asking candidates to get their documents verified. And on the basis of the prelim exam results, even before declaring the mains result, SSC began making recruitments, pointed out Swaraj India as one more irregularity the SSC appears to have committed.

“When the exams started in 2016 and the process is still on in 2018, why has the SSC suddenly been in such a hurry,” Yadav asked.

Published: 09 Mar 2018, 5:40 PM IST

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Published: 09 Mar 2018, 5:40 PM IST