In order to prevent potential fraud, mobile Internet services were shut down for four hours on Sunday throughout 25 Assam districts as the state government administered written tests for Grade-IV positions in a number of its departments.
In addition, a top government official said, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code were issued in the districts where the examinations were taking place.
The police detained the Cachar College principal in Silchar over allegations of willful misconduct in the administration of the test.
After visiting the institution, the deputy commissioner of the Cachar district, according to the police, filed an FIR at the Silchar Police Station against the principal, Siddhartha Sankar Nath.
The DC alleged that the principal had not conducted the exam in accordance with the instructions provided for that purpose.
According to the police, Nath was detained because of the complaint.
For nearly 30,000 Grade-III and -IV positions, more than 14.30 lakh candidates are anticipated to apply. The exams are scheduled for August 21 and 28, and September 11.
Exams for Grade-III positions will be held on the other two dates, while tests for Grade-IV posts were administered on Sunday in two shifts. The Assam Board of Secondary Education is in charge of all examinations (SEBA).
According to senior representatives of the private telecom companies Airtel and Jio, internet service was shut down for four hours in 25 districts at the request of the Assam government.
An Airtel SMS to its customers stated, “Dear Customers, As per Government Directive, Mobile Internet Services are Temporarily Stopped in Your Area Between 10 am to 12 pm and Between 2 pm to 4 pm.”
Other operators distributed comparable communications to their clients all over the state.
In order to prevent potential fraud during the hiring process, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on August 17 that internet services would be suspended during examination times.
In the meantime, Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been promulgated in and around the testing locations for all three days in order to conduct the exams in a “free, fair, and transparent manner,” the Assam Police stated in a tweet.
According to a formal order, it is forbidden for anyone besides test takers, scribes, and conduct and monitoring officials to congregate within 100 meters of each examination site.
Mobile phone use inside testing facilities has also been prohibited.
A 100-meter radius around the SEBA office in Guwahati has also been placed under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code with prohibition orders in place while the answer scripts are being received, deposited, and scrutinized.
