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.
