Orissa high court annuls ASO recruitment exam amid alleged scam

Bhubaneswar: Following the recent arrest of a private company owner for his alleged role in the SI recruitment exam scam, Orissa high court on Wednesday annulled the main written examination held in July for the recruitment of assistant section officers (ASO), which was conducted by the same agency.“The main written examination was conducted on July 13 for 7,113 candidates who qualified in the preliminary examination. Since the court entertains serious doubts about the conduct of the main written examination by the agency engaged for the said purpose, the court has decided to cancel it in order to ensure fairness in the examination process,” read a notice issued by the HC on Wednesday.The court said that the main written examination will be conducted afresh on Dec 7 for the 7,113 candidates who already qualified in the preliminary examination held on May 4.Crime branch sources said the company of Suresh Nayak, who was arrested on Nov 3, was involved in the conduct of the high court’s ASO recruitment test. The cancellation came a day after the Centre approved state govt’s proposal for a CBI investigation into the SI recruitment exam scam.