ARMY CANCELS EXAM AFTER PAPER LEAK, 18 ARRESTED
and West Bengal police, Akash, a man in his 50s, became the top Maoist leader holding sway in the two states after the death of politburo member, Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji, in an encounter in Jhargram in 2012.
The organisation has since been getting weaker and weaker, with more than 200 Maoist cadres and leaders laying down their arms before the Bengal police in the last four years.
A similar number of rebels have also surrendered in Jharkhand.
A few top Maoists have also been killed. Things have turned worse for the rebel outfit in the last one month when at least 16 Maoists laid down arms in Bengal and seven of them, led by secretary of the Bengal-JharkhandOdisha border area regional committee secretary, Kanhu Ram Munda, surrendered in Jharkhand. This virtually cleared the jungles of the red movement.
However, Akash and his squad remain a big challenge for police of both states. The Mamata Banerjee government of West Bengal is trying its best to lure Akash to surrender but he hasn’t responded yet.
Jharkhand police, on the other hand, is luring him with a reward of ₹1 crore if he surrenders before them.
Police are expecting to recover some bodies as the blood stains at the encounter site reveal some casualties.
The army on Sunday countermanded examinations in six centres in western India for some lower-level posts following an alleged leak of question papers. The examination centres where the tests were cancelled include Kamptee, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Ahmedabad, Goa and Kirkee, army sources said.
The exam papers of Army Recruitment Board were allegedly leaked following which the Thane Police’s Crime Branch conducted raids and arrested 18 persons from Maharashtra and Goa. The exams were held for a number of posts, including soldier clerk and strongman and soldier tradesman, in 52 centres across the country.
Sources said army has ordered an internal enquiry and further action will be taken based on the findings, adding that tests at more centres are likely to countermanded. They said that prior to the exam the army had told police and intelligence agencies to ensure that a fair exam is held.
Nearly 250 students have been taken into custody. The students were allegedly given the papers by those who run coaching classes and some army employees to write the answers in lodges and other places.