Days before SSC exam, Bengal youth held for fake post on question paper sale

Kolkata, Sep 6 (IANS) West Bengal police have arrested a youth from West Midnapore for allegedly circulating a fake social media post claiming that question papers of the upcoming School Service Commission (SSC) examination were available for sale.

The West Midnapore police made the arrest last night after the youth wrote on a Facebook post that he received a call from a person who assured him to arrange the question paper of the exam and help him get a teaching job.

The police were quick to react as soon as the post came to their attention. It was found that the person was actually a resident of Mangrul Gram Panchayat in Chandrakona of West Midnapore district.

The arrested person has been identified as Arindam Pal, who is directly associated with a political party. His Facebook profile says that he graduated from Ghatal College in 2016. Several other posts on his Facebook are also full of anti-government messages.

The West Midnapore district police further claimed that the young man made this fake Facebook post to disrupt the upcoming School Service Commission selection exams on September 7 and 14.

The investigators said they were taking him into custody to determine the purpose of the false propaganda.

West Midnapore District Superintendent of Police, Dhritiman Sarkar, said, "The accused has been arrested for making a false post; legal action is being taken against him."

It may be noted that the Supreme Court cancelled the entire panel of the 2016 SSC exam on charges of institutional corruption in the teacher recruitment process. As a result, at least 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff lost their jobs.

West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) has announced fresh examinations to recruit teachers on September 7 and 14, as per the Supreme Court order.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that question papers are being sold in North 24 Parganas for as little as Rs 50,000, further heightening the controversy ahead of the exams.

--IANS

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