Mobile internet services will remain suspended in Jharkhand for over five hours on Saturday and Sunday. The decision to shut off the mobile internet service across that state has been taken given the Jharkhand General Graduate Level Combined Competitive Examination (JGGLCCE).
The mobile internet services will remain suspended from 8 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday and the prohibition will be put in place again on Sunday in a bid to check any malpractice during the examination, according to an official statement, reported PTI.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren said in a post on X that he has spoken to senior officials regarding the preparations for the examination. "Negligence will not be tolerated under any circumstances," he said on X.
"If anybody tries to do something wrong during the examination, even by mistake, we will deal with them strictly," Soren said.
The examination will be conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission in 823 centres with around 6.39 lakh candidates expected to appear for the test, a JSSC official said.
The government has, however, clarified that voice calls and broadband connectivity based on fixed telephone lines may remain operational during the aforementioned period.
The state government said that the ban decision has been taken after previous instances of some unscrupulous individuals resorting to unfair practices were observed. Various mobile applications, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), Telegram, and YouTube, which rely on Internet/Wi-Fi connectivity were used for such activities, reported the Times of India.
"The government of Jharkhand seeks to eliminate any loopholes in the examination process that may raise doubts in the public mind regarding the integrity of the recruitment process, potentially leading to law and order issues that could impact public safety," said the government in a statement.