Candidates Leave Police Recruitment Exam Over OMR-Question Paper Mismatch Claim

Several candidates walked out of the Civil Police Constable recruitment examination at a centre in Tikota on Sunday after claiming that the serial numbers printed on their OMR answer sheets did not match those on the question papers. The incident triggered a brief commotion outside the examination centre before police brought the situation under control.

The incident occurred at Sharadamba Pre-University College in Tikota, one of the 61 examination centres set up in the district for the recruitment test conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).

The question papers reached the centre at 9.30 am and were distributed to all examination rooms along with the OMR answer sheets.

Soon after the distribution, some candidates alleged that the serial numbers on their OMR sheets did not match those printed on the question papers.

According to Vijayapura Deputy Commissioner Dr Anandh K, some of the candidates refused to write the examination and walked out of the centre. Some of them also persuaded other candidates to leave the examination hall, he said.

The Deputy Commissioner clarified that similar confusion had arisen at a few other examination centres but was resolved after officials explained the procedure to the candidates. According to officials there was no requirement for the OMR answer sheet and question paper to carry identical serial numbers.

At Tikota center the candidates who left the examination premises with OMR, later wanted to re-enter. However, officials denied the request, citing the standard operating procedures governing the recruitment test.

"The instructions are clear that candidates must remain inside the examination centre until the final bell. Once a candidate leaves the examination premises, allowing re-entry would compromise the integrity of the examination and violate the prescribed SOP," the Deputy Commissioner said.

He said some candidates attempted to enter the campus again by pushing the gates, leading to a tense situation at the entrance. Police personnel deployed at the centre used minimal force to prevent them from entering and brought the situation under control.

There were allegations that there had been a delay due to the confusion which were compensated by granting additional time to candidates after getting permission from the Karnataka Examinations Authority.

“The incident will be reported to the KEA,” he added.

According to the district administration, 24,434 candidates had been allotted examination centres across Vijayapura district, while 23,184 candidates completed the test and submitted the OMR sheet. At the Tikota centre, 432 had to write the exam of which only 120 completed the process.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Examinations Authority issued a clarification stating that misinformation had been circulated on social media claiming that the serial numbers on the OMR sheet and the question paper should be identical.

KEA said it had never stated in any notification, instruction or public communication that the two serial numbers must match. It explained that the OMR answer sheet contains separate fields for candidates to enter the question paper serial number and version code, which itself indicates that the two numbers are not intended to be the same.