After SI selection, JKSSB’s exam for FAAs & JEs too under scanner
While the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is expected to register a First Information Report (FIR) in the alleged irregularities in selection of 1200 Sub Inspectors (SIs) in the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the current week, the examinations held by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for selection of over a thousand Finance Accounts Assistants (FAAs) and Junior Engineers (JEs) in the Union Territory government’s Jal Shakti Department have also been put under scanner.
According to highly placed authoritative sources, the same high level inquiry which investigated the selection of the 1200 SIs and established fraud in the process is looking into the complaints of irregularities in the tests held for FAAs and JEs. If these sources are to be believed, “massive irregularities” have surfaced in the merit list of the FAAs issued by the JKSSB early this year. However, until now, “not a big fraud” has been established in the selection list of the JEs.
“There appear to be several irregularities in the JE Jal Shakti list but it’s volume is not massive and comparable to the merit list of FAAs. But the investigation is still in progress and it has not been concluded in the last one month”, said a knowledge source. According to him, the inquiry into the selection of FAAs and JEs (Jal Shakti) was “formally but secretly” assigned to the high level committee which on 10 June 2022 was constituted to probe the allegations of irregularities in the selection of SIs.
Additional Chief Secretary Home Raj Kumar Goyal headed by the both inquires. Principal Secretary General Administration Department (GAD) Manoj Kumar Dwivedi and Law Secretary Achal Sethi were appointed it’s members.
Early this month, the inquiry panel submitted its report on selection of the SIs. It established substantial irregularities and recommended total scrapping of the selection list. It also recommended a through criminal investigation by a credible UT or Central govt agency. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha lost no time to order termination of the whole selection process besides a professional investigation by the CBI.
On referral of the UT government, the JKSSB had notified 1700 vacancies of FAAs, JEs etc. in six particular departments on 16 December 2020. Around 200,000 candidates submitted application forms for 972 vacancies of FAAs in Accounts and Treasuries Department. After several schedule cancellation, the examination for FAAs was held in March 2022. On 23 April 2022, the JKSSB held a meeting and approved the merit list for 972 posts of FAAs besides 3200 class 4th posts, 91 Junior Statistical Assistants, 144 JEs in PWD and 65 JEs in Jal Shakti Department. Following this meeting, the document verification was also carried out for 133237 candidates figuring in the merit list.
However, parallel to the allegations in the selection process of the SIs, complaint began pouring also in the examinations conducted by the JKSSB for FAAs and JEs Jal Shakti Department. Ultimately the inquiry report about the selection of SIs has also brought other selections and exams, particularly those for FAAs and JEs, under the cloud.
