The principal of the Cachar College at Silchar in Assam was arrested on Sunday for alleged dereliction of duty during the recruitment examinations for filling up Grade III and IV posts.

S.S. Nath, who was arrested based on a complaint filed by deputy commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha, was released on bail around midnight by signing a declaration that he would cooperate with police investigation. Sources said that the complaint accused the centre- in-charge of the examination, in this case the principal, of dereliction of duty by not adhering to the standard operating procedure (SOP) finalised for the examinations.

Around 1,200 candidates took the examinations at Cachar College, which is over 360km from Guwahati.The Cachar deputy commissioner could not be contacted, but Jha had told the media in Silchar that the gates of the examination centre and question papers were allegedly not collected on time.

There were charges of violation of the SOP, sources said.Over 14 lakh students are appearing in the three-phase examinations for nearly 30,000 posts.On Sunday, around 4,43,000 candidates in 24 districts appeared for the first phase examinations.

There were two papers, starting from 10am to12pm and 2pm to 4pm on Sunday. Examinations were held in 24 of the 35 districts on Sunday, which saw temporary mobile Internet shutdown for four hours.The government had made elaborate and stringent arrangements to ensure a smooth and “free, fair and transparent” examination so that only the deserving candidates get selected.The next phase will next be held on August 28 and September 11.