Answer keys of a recruitment examination of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) were leaked, leading the authority to postpone the recruitment process just a day before the exams were scheduled to be conducted on Sunday.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ADC, CK Jamatia accompanied by its legal advisor Data Mohon Jamatia and additional CEO Md Muslem Uddin Ahmed addressing a press conference at Agartala press club on Saturday afternoon said that the TTAADC administration fully prepared for the examinations, but the sudden incident of leaking the answer key the a day before the scheduled examinations necessitated immediate action.

He said that council had advertised for recruitment in 110 vacant posts of Sub-Zonal Development Officer (SZDO) and Deputy Principal Officer (DPO) positions in the Council.

Around 26,000 job aspirants are scheduled to sit for the examination in various centers across the state.

“We were hundred percent prepared to conduct the competitive examination for recruitment scheduled on Sunday. Examination center in-charges, coordinators, invigilators, observers were ready to conduct the exam but in the Saturday evening we came to know that the answer keys were leaked.

Due to this unavoidable circumstances, the examination has been postponed for the time being,” the CEM told the media on Saturday night.

He also said the TTAADC administration would announce the new dates for recruitment examinations after deciding the same in the next ten days.

Meanwhile, the tribal council has decided to lodge a complaint with the police and initiate an administrative inquiry to figure out how the answer keys for the recruitment examination were leaked.

The process to recruit for the posts of SZDOs and DPOs was initiated for the first time in 20 years, said Debbarma and appealed to the candidates to cooperate with the TTAADC administration.

The TTAADC since April 2021 has been governed by the Tipra Motha and its supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma expressed his concern over the allegations on social media. He stated that he had urged CEO Jamatia to promptly address the issue by holding a press conference, postponing the examinations and filing an FIR against the responsible persons.

Pradyot in his Facebook post stated that “I have received a serious allegation against a leak in the answer sheet for the TTAADC examination to be held tomorrow. I have asked CK Jamatia (IAS) to immediately hold a press conference, postpone the examination, and file an FIR against those who were responsible for this. Once evidence was given, we cross-checked it. It’s my firm commitment that there will be no room for corruption. I am thankful to the people who came forward and showed us the evidence. Those involved are being identified and strict action will be taken against them and keep no doubt they will be put behind bars. People will serve time for this! Heads must roll!”

He also said that “I request the students and examinees not to panic; the new dates will be announced soon and examination will be held at the earliest.”