The students’ front of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) on Sunday demanded the reconstitution of the Sikkim Public Service Commission (SPSC) by removing the present office-bearers while iterating its call for fresh combined preliminary recruitment examination conducted by the commission for the posts of under-secretaries, deputy superintendents of police and accounts officer.

The students’ front’s demand follows the release of the revised answer keys of the recently held examination wherein the commission has cancelled a combined total of eight questions in Part 1 and Part 2 papers while awarding full marks against them to the examinees.

Furthermore, the SPSC has also awarded marks for ticking either of the two correct answers out of the four options provided to each of the six other questions, which is unheard of in a multiple-choice question format.

Rikzing Norbu Bhutia, a student leader-cum-spokesman for the SDF, said follow ing such glaring blunders committed by the commission by its own admission and other alleged anomalies that had taken place in the conduct of the examination, the SDF would settle for nothing less than holding of fresh examination in order to provide justice to the 800-odd examinees.

“We want the present SPSC body to be removed and replaced with a new body. There should be 100 per cent re-examination conducted in an independent and competent manner,” he said, while demanding a judicial inquiry headed by a judge of the High Court of Sikkim into the fiasco and appropriate action against those responsible for it.

Bhutia also regretted the commission had refused to take note of the alleged lapses by the invigilators during the examination, including allowing the use of mobile phones, taking toilet breaks in midst of the exam and letting latecomers sit for the test.

“We demand that the commission not release the results of the examination and a re-examination conducted instead. Given that the job aspirants had to pay a fee of Rs 500 each while applying for the exam and travel for long distances at their own expense, the SPSC should pay TA and DA to the examinees during the re-examination,” he said.

Even while releasing the revised answer keys, the SPSC appeared to have dug a bigger hole for itself by providing a wrong answer to the question on the training component of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. While the correct answer should have been both short-term training and recognition of prior learning, the SPSC answer mentions only the former.

5 shops gutted in Jalpaiguri blaze

Five shops were gutted in a blaze that broke out in Malbazar of Jalpaiguri on Sunday morning.

State fire services staff, who doused the fire in nearly three hours, suspect an electrical short circuit as the cause. Malbazar SDPO Robin Thapa said that an e-rickshaw driver spotted the flames around 5am.