Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has officially accepted the demands made by thousands of aspirants who have been protesting the conduct of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) recruitment examination. The CM stated that a complete rechecking of all answer scripts would be carried out and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would be set up to probe allegations of malpractice that have rocked the state's administrative recruitment process.
The controversy erupted after several candidates returned from the exam centre claiming they had attempted significantly more questions than what appeared on their checked answer sheets. Many aspirants reported that their papers showed fewer attempted answers than they had actually written, raising serious questions about transparency in the evaluation process. Some candidates alleged that their original sheets were swapped with pre-prepared doctored copies containing deliberately wrong responses.
Students across the state organized sustained protests, blocking roads in major cities and gathering outside the MPSC headquarters in Mumbai. They demanded not only a re-evaluation but also strict action against those responsible for what they called a systematic manipulation of results. The agitation gained further momentum as unemployed youth, already grappling with fierce competition for limited government posts, expressed deep frustration over what they viewed as an unfair and opaque system.
Fadnavis acknowledged the severity of the unrest during a press briefing and confirmed that the state government would ensure due process. The newly formed SIT will investigate the specific complaints of answer paper tampering, while the rechecking exercise aims to restore confidence in the merit-based selection process. Education officials are expected to announce timelines for both the reevaluation and the probe in the coming days.
The MPSC conducts one of India's most competitive state-level examinations, recruiting officers for administrative, revenue, and police services. Previous years have seen scrutiny over selection procedures, making this incident particularly damaging to public trust.
