Arunachal: APPSC aspirants demand arrest of former APPSC chairman, to boycott exams conducted by state

Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) aspirants under the umbrella body of the Pan-Arunachal Joint Steering Committee-APPSC (PAJSC-APPSC) demanded immediate arrest of the former APPSC chairman Nipo Nabam, secretary Jayanta Kumar Ray among other officials.

Addressing journalists during a press conference at the Arunachal Press Club, PAJSC-APPSC member Rakpi Bagra said, “In the 2014-’15 paper leak issue, he was member secretary. He became chairman at the end of 2017, and all this fiasco happened under his chairmanship.”

Further questioning the investigating agencies Rakpi Bagra alleged that Nabam has not yet been interrogated by the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding his role in the APPSC paper leak scam.

"We will sit for the examination only if it is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)..have lost faith in the APPSC," said Bagra while addressing the media.

Notably, the PAJSC-APPSC said it has submitted a 13-point demand to the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union and the All Nyishi Students’ Union.

On the other hand, thousands of students of the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST) Institute of Nirjuli took out a rally to protest against the infamous APPSC paper leak case.

The rally was staged following a meeting held on by representatives of the Northeastern states, including research scholars, postgraduate students, and members of the Students’ Union of the NERIST (SUN).

NERIST students from other parts of the Northeast region who joined the rally said that cases of corruption are not confined to Arunachal Pradesh alone but exist in other parts of the Northeast also.

“Such protest is a vice versa. Even students from Arunachal Pradesh studying in our home states, such as Nagaland and Manipur, join such protests,” one of them said.

Several APPSC aspirants also joined the rally.

Meanwhile, all the student bodies under the SUN in different parts of the Northeast have also issued a condemnation letter over the APPSC paper leak case. All the letters will be sent to the office of the Raj Bhavan in Itanagar on Monday, the protestors said.

SUN president Nuilum Sikom, general secretary Tamar Kaji, and representatives from other student bodies under the NERIST took part in the rally.