Lucknow: On the back foot after a series of demonstrations by the applicants following the alleged question paper leak, the government on Saturday cancelled the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment exam, which was held on February 17 and 18 across the state.
The government has also ordered a probe by the special task force (SIT) of the state police. The exam will now be held in six months.
"Directives have been issued to cancel the Police Recruitment examination... They will be held within six months...there can be no compromise with the sanctity of the examinations...we will not spare the guilty," Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on the social media platform 'X'.
The paper was allegedly leaked on WhatsApp, and the main accused in the case, Neeraj Kumar, is yet to be arrested.
Initially, the officials maintained that there was no leak and that the question paper allegedly sent on WhatsApp of some examinees was fake.
Thousands of candidates who had taken the examination had been protesting for the past few days, demanding the cancellation of the exam. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress leaders had also demanded the cancellation of the examination.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed the state government over the alleged leak and called the decision to cancel the exam the victory of the youths of the state. An estimated 48 lakh candidates had appeared for the exam.
Published 25 February 2024, 01:04 IST