The Rajasthan Public Service Commission has cancelled the Revenue Officer Grade II and Executive Officer Class IV examinations held in 2023, saying that the question papers for both had been leaked. Both exams were conducted on May 14, 2023, and the commission said in a statement Friday that a re-examination would be held on March 23, 2025. Over 1.9 lakh candidates had appeared for the exams, from which 311 candidates were shortlisted for a total of 111 posts. However, suspicions regarding paper leak had been raised from the day of the exams, with multiple FIRs having been filed over alleged irregularities. This prompted officials, while verifying the documents of the shortlisted candidates in August this year, to ask some of the candidates some basic questions that they were allegedly not able to answer. The shortlisted candidates’ alleged lack of basic knowledge of the subjects involved prompted the commission to file a report with the ATS and the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police on August 14, after which an inquiry was launched. As part of the investigation, the SOG conducted searches in seven districts – Nagaur, Jodhpur, Churu, Hanumangarh, Sikar, Jaipur, and Bikaner – on October 19. During the raids, the SOG arrested 28 accused, of which 17 were produced before court on October 20 and were subsequently sent on remand till Friday. “On the date of the exam, May 14, 2023, multiple FIRs related to cheating were registered in Bikaner. After three primary reports were filed regarding cheating of many candidates using Bluetooth and after they were investigated, the crime was found to be proven and the integrity and confidentiality of the Revenue Officer Grade-II and Executive Officer Class-IV examinations have been violated. That is why the commission has decided to cancel the exams and hold re-examination,” said RPSC secretary Ramniwas Mehta. This is the first government recruitment exam in Rajasthan to be cancelled since the senior teachers’ recruitment exam of 2022.
