It is the State's solemn right to indulge in violence against its citizens and with sure immunity. Several job seekers were lathi-charged and detained by police in Jammu on Wednesday who were protesting the hiring of a previously black-listed company to conduct written jobs examinations by the official recruitment agency – Jammu Kashmir Services Selection Board
The protesters gathered outside Dogra Chowk in the city's heart and attempted to march in defiance of prohibitory orders when police restored lathicharge before detaining several of them, according to officials.
A peaceful protest was also held in Srinagar's Partap Park, with many job seekers raising slogans against APTECH and the JKSSB.
Protesters chanted slogans against the JKSSB for hiring APTECH Limited, a company that was blacklisted in 2019 for administering computer-based tests. A senior official of the JKSSB said there was no justification for the protest as the matter with regard to the hiring of APTECH Company is “sub-judice”.
Is it a responsible answer by any official to justify the hiring of a tainted company when the JKSSB and JKPSC are already in dock for their failure to ensure their credibility among the people?
Following allegations of paper leaks and malpractices, the Jammu Kashmir administration, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, cancelled the selected list of 1,200 police sub-inspectors, 1300 junior engineers, and 1,000 finance account assistants in July last year. While the LG's decision for cancelling such fraudulent selection lists was welcomed and appreciated, will it give back the precious times lost by the youth who did hard work and passed through an exhausting process. Many may have reached the borderline of eligibility for future exams. The inefficiency of the JKPSC in declaring two results of Combined Civil Services (preliminary) entrance exams within a gap of six hours – one at about 6 PM and other at midnight. This malfunctioning resulted in the ousting of scores of aspirants who were declared qualified just six hour before the rectified result and replaced with others.
On November 12, 2022, the CBI, which is investigating the sub-inspector recruitment scam after registering a case on August 3 on a referral from the J-K administration, filed a chargesheet against 24 people, including the mastermind, Yatin Yadav of Rewari, and a BSF commandant.
While those external manipulators involved in chicanery may be subjected to criminal prosecution, how come those responsible for such lacunae are left unpunished? Mere transferring the lethargic and incompetent officials is no punishment and deterrent.
However, he stated that the company was hired in accordance with central and state government guidelines because it had already completed the three-year blacklisting period in May of last year.
“When we are selecting a company for conducting a written examination, we also employ checks and balances to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness in the selection.”We are following a procedure that is consistent with the standards of major national level recruitment agencies,” said the official.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “APTECH go back” and “we want justice,” and stated that they are concerned about their future because they are approaching the age limit due to the administration's alleged failure to complete the recruitment process on time.
“APTECH was blacklisted in the past and there is no guarantee it will not do any wrongdoing in future. “What compelled the LG administration to hire such a black-listed company?” enquired a female protester.
The J&K political leaders from all hues except for BJP have condemned the use of force against the job seekers.
There are reports that rules were changed suo moto by the JK SSB to ensure that it received the contract. The lightning speed with which the judicial process ran from one stage to the other stands testimony for possible interest.
All this obviously caused suspicion in the minds of struggling youth, they were only asking the question of hiring a tainted company for the jobs exams, but they were lathi-charged and detained.
The youths work hard and study for the exams day and night, only to be told that there was an error in the recruitment process somewhere and the exam was cancelled.
These young people were exercising their democratic right to protest the recent decision to hire a blacklisted firm. These actions are sure to backfire!
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