Jharkhand govt puts on hold physical test for excise recruitment for 3 days after aspirants’ deaths
Taking to social media, chief minister Hemant Soren, who is away from the state until September 3, said his government has also directed the state health department to form a committee to analyse the deaths and submit a recommendatory report on the issue.
The Jharkhand government on Monday put on hold the ongoing physical test for the recruitment of 583 constables in the excise department in the wake of the deaths of at least a dozen aspirants.
Taking to social media, chief minister Hemant Soren, who is away from the state until September 3, said his government has also directed the state health department to form a committee to analyse the deaths and submit a recommendatory report on the issue.
“I have directed the authorities to review the recruitment regulations formed by the previous government. I have also directed the concerned parties to provide immediate assistance and support to the victims’ families,” Soren said.
“As a precautionary measure, I have also directed that the physical test be stopped for the next three days. In no case will the running test be conducted after 9 a.m. Additionally, medical facilities and arrangements for food will be made at recruitment centres to ensure that no one participates in the physical test on an empty stomach,” he added.
The decision came an hour after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) urged the Hemant Soren government to postpone the ongoing physical test for recruitment of excise constables by at least 15 days.
The party also demanded that the state government provide monetary compensation and a government job to the dependents of the victims.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s state headquarters, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the party’s co-incharge for the upcoming assembly elections, announced a monetary compensation of ₹1 lakh each to the families of all the victims.
Sarma also said the BJP would file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking a probe into the incident if the state does not provide the requisite compensation.
“We have never seen such a tragedy in respect to the recruitment of constables, be it in the Army, paramilitary, or state police. The biggest reason is that it is being conducted in August and September. The vacancy came in June 2023, and the admit card was to be issued in August 2023. They had the months from September to December last year, which is conducive weather-wise to conduct such a physical test. But they are doing it one year later in August and September, when the heat is maximum. I urge the government to postpone this until at least September 15, by which time the temperature is likely to dip,” said Sarma.
The ongoing physical test for recruitment of 583 constables in the excise department has led to the death of at least 12 aspirants in the past four days across five districts, allegedly after they took ill and fell unconscious during their efforts to complete the mandatory 10-km run in one hour. The Jharkhand Police have confirmed the deaths of at least 12 aspirants.
Meanwhile, Sarma claimed 15 have lost their lives and said a party delegation would visit all 15 families and provide monetary compensation of ₹1 lakh each.
Sarma further said that the state government should make arrangements for at least one glass of milk and one apple for each aspirant before they are subjected to the physical test.
“The physical test should be done only after conducting the medical test of each aspirant,” said Sarma.
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaders have claimed that the Covid-19 vaccine or the use of steroids by aspirants for enhanced performance could not be ruled out at this stage.
Sarma hit out at the ruling party for such claims. “There should be limits to telling lies. Did people in Jharkhand get a different set of Covid-19 vaccines? Thousands of recruitments have been done in the Army, paramilitary, and states since the Covid-19 pandemic. 22,000 constables have been recruited in Assam since then. Did we see any such instance anywhere else?” said Sarma.
Reacting to the charge and demands, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) spokesperson Manoj Pandey said the BJP was unnecessarily politicising the issue.
“Shouldn’t they wait for the autopsy report? This is a very sensitive government. We have seen what the Centre did when they imposed lockdown. It was our government that brought stranded labourers home, even by flight. The state is taking all possible steps even in this case. As far as giving compensation is concerned, that is a decision of the state government,” said Pandey.