Protest against annulment of PSI exam results; CM Bommai reaches out

www.mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, May 29, 2022: The heat generated by the police sub-inspector (PSI) exam scam is refusing to die down. On Saturday, over 300 candidates who had cracked the exam held on October 3, 2021, staged a protest at Freedom Park in the heart of Bengaluru against the government’s decision to cancel the exam results.

The protest was so vociferous that it drew the attention of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, prompting him to rush to the venue.

The government had cancelled the results and ordered a re-exam in April, after it emerged that many candidates had sneaked in through malpractice.

Thirty-two of them have been arrested so far from Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and other parts of Karnataka.

What’s more, a deputy superintendent of police and several staffers working in the recruitment wing of the state police have been arrested for manipulating the results in favour of candidates who bribed them.

At Freedom Park, protesters described the government’s decision as “arbitrary and unfair”.

“Why punish all for the misdeeds of a few,” argued Rakesh C, an engineer who is among the successful candidates.

The candidates were just days away from getting appointment letters when the scam blew up.

Rakesh asked the government to weed out all “dishonest” candidates and issue appointment letters to the rest.

In a statement, state police chief Praveen Sood had promised as much in April, but the government thought otherwise.

The candidates submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, who promised to “reconsider” the decision of annulling the exam results, but only after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submits a final report.

Candidates aren’t backing down. They have already challenged the government’s decision before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal and a hearing is scheduled for June 2.