Public Service Commission exam held amid protest

Itanagar: A recruitment examination organised by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) was held on Saturday amid protests by a section of the aspirants who were dispersed by the police using water canon here, officials said.

The incident occurred near a school where the mains examination of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission Combined Examination (APPSCCE) was going on.

A section of the candidates protested outside the school demanding postponement of the mains examination on the ground of court cases related to the examination.

APPSC secretary Taru Talo said 900 out of total 1336 candidates appeared in the first day of the mains exam.

The Commission on Friday night notified that it would conduct the examination according to schedule from November 10 to 20 after the Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court vacated a stay order on November 8 on holding the examination.

However, the court ordered that the result of the examination will be kept in a sealed cover and will be subject to the final outcome of the writ petition filed by some candidates.

The Court has fixed the next joint hearing for November 14 next.

A section of the candidates decided to boycott the examination saying they are not in a mental state to appear for the examination, owing to the ongoing fiasco.

They demanded that the mains examination be held only after the final verdict of the high court is out.

The APPSC has rejected the demand.

The fiasco began in November last year, when the APPSC held the APPSCCE preliminary examination.

Following objections by students over alleged anomalies in selection of questions, the preliminaries were rescheduled and held in July this year.

The results were declared within a week but a section of the candidates who did not make the list for the mains exams moved court.

The candidates have sought instituting an expert committee to look into the alleged anomalies in the prelims question papers.