1st recruitment exam held after strict anti-copying law in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: The exams for patwari and accountant posts were held on Sunday amid heavy security arrangements, even as protests over recruitment exam scams continued in Dehradun.
The exams were the first to be conducted after introduction of the anti-copying ordinance by the state government, with provisions for Rs 10 crore fine, freezing of assets and life terms.Meanwhile, police had arranged for demonstrators in custody to appear for lekhpal exams on the day but none of them appeared for those, saying it's "pointless" as the exam may prove to be "riddled with corruption like all others".
Across the state, 34.4% of the 1.58 lakh candidates for Sunday's exam didn't appear, according to government data. There were 498 centres in the state, of which 72 were in the capital, with over 29,000 candidates appearing here. While the situation in Dehradun was mostly peaceful, in some exam centres in Uttarkashi and Pauri, candidates were allegedly not allowed to reach exam centres by protesters.
At Shaheed Smarak in Doon, protests continued for the fifth day amid heavy police deployment. The state capital, which witnessed maximum protests in the state over the past few days, was divided into three super zones, eight zones, 14 sectors and 72 sub-sectors by police as part of the security measures. Daleep Singh Kunwar, SSP, Dehradun, said "The super zones were monitored by the SSP and SPs, while the zones by circle officers. Similarly, the sectors and sub-sectors were monitored by the station house officers and sub-inspectors respectively."
The number of agitators has gone up in Dehradun, even as section 144 continues to be in place here. Some protesters spent a second night in a row in the open, demanding the release of 13 agitators who have been in jail since they were detained on Thursday for stone pelting. "Section 144 is still in place. Nobody was allowed to roam unnecessarily within a 100-metre radius of the 72 exam centres in the district. The candidates appearing in the exam were also thoroughly frisked for electronic devices like mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, earphones and watches. Social media was also closely monitored," said Kunwar. Suresh Singh, spokesperson, state unemployed association, whose president and other members are currently in jail, said, "My centre was in Almora but I didn't go. It is pointless when we know that there would be irregularities in this paper as well, despite what the government says." Earlier in the day, police detained at least 100 Congress members, including former state president Ganesh Godiyal, for protesting at Abhishek Tower in Dehradun.