Uttarakhand: Magisterial inquiry ordered in lathi charge incident on youth protesters

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday ordered for detailed magisterial inquiry into the alleged lathi charge incident by the police on the youngsters who were demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the recruitment scams in the state.

“The Chief Minister has directed the Chief Secretary for a detailed magisterial inquiry into the law and order situation and the entire sequence of lathi charge,” a statement from the CM office said.

“After checking all the facts and circumstances, the inquiry officer will make the detailed inquiry report available to the government,” it added.

The Uttarakhand police used a baton charge on the youngsters who were demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the recruitment scams in the state after stones were allegedly pelted at them during a massive protest in Dehradun on Thursday, police said.

Dehradun DIG while taking note of the matter said that an investigation is underway into the matter.

He also said that some “outside elements” entered the protest to vitiate the atmosphere.

Some outside elements entered the protest to vitiate the atmosphere. Stone pelting was done and police vehicles were damaged while many personnel were injured. An effort is underway to identify the accused. Probe underway,” he further said.

However, police personnel also detained several protestors during the demonstration.

Meanwhile, hitting out at the Dhami government, former Chief Minister of state Harish Rawat said that the lathi charge by the police on the students was “unfortunate”.

“Students are demanding a robust exam system. Already there is a lack of jobs due to the BJP government, then paper gets leaked and cancelled. When students were protesting they were lathi-charged which is unfortunate,” Rawat said.

He also said that CM Dhami should speak with the students.

The government is facing sharp criticism after several exams were cancelled due to the leakage of the examination papers.

The recent UKPSC paper leak which resulted in the Patwari Lekhpal exam being cancelled for around 1.4 lakh candidates.

Uttarakhand recently faced a major paper leak case in December.

The case pertains to a written exam conducted by the UKSSSC in December 2021.

It was one of the major examinations conducted by the commission for 854 posts across 13 departments.

However, there were widespread allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the test. Following these allegations, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami called for a probe and strict action against those guilty.

Following this, the secretary of the commission was removed from the post. A Special Task Force (STF) was also constituted to investigate the alleged irregularities.

After the Uttarakhand State Subordinate Service Selection Commission was caught up in a paper leak case, the government asked the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission to conduct recruitment exams.

However, UKPSC officials were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the UKPSC Paper leak for the Patwari Lekhpal exam, which was conducted on January 8, 2023. As of now, a total of four people have been arrested in the case.

A case has been registered against nine people at Haridwar’s Kankhal police station on Friday after an investigation by Police’s Special Investigating Team (SIT) for the irregularities in AE/JE exam under Uttarakhand Public Services Examination (UKPSE), as informed by Uttarakhand CMO.

However, the CM on Thursday said that he approved an ordinance to bring the country’s strictest “anti-cheating law”.

“As a promise to the youth, our government has decided to bring the strictest anti-cheating law of the country. I have approved the Ordinance in this regard and sent for further action,” he wrote in a tweet in Hindi.