Customs officers recruitment in Jharkhand: 12 candidates die during physical examination

Jharkhand Customs Officer recruitment process has taken a grim turn as the physical tests have resulted in tragic deaths. Twelve candidates have died in the race for Jharkhand Customs Officer recruitment while more than 100 candidates are said to have been hospitalized. The process to apply for the Customs Officer recruitment exam began on August 22, 2024. The news of the death of four candidates surfaced on August 28, 2024. Even after that, the recruitment exam continued. After several consecutive deaths, CM Hemant Soren has postponed the recruitment exam by three days. According to the notification issued by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) for the recruitment of Jharkhand Customs Officers, recruitment is to be done for a total of 583 posts while 1,27,572 have appeared in the physical exam so far. In addition, 78,023 of all candidates have already been declared successful, including 55,439 male and 21,582 female candidates.

In Jharkhand, a total of 7 centres for Customs Officer Recruitment Examination have been set up across the state including Giridih, Palamu, CTC Mosabani and Sahebganj and two examination centres in Ranchi. The news of the death of the candidates first came from Palamu district. After the exam on August 27, four more candidates died the next day. From Hazaribagh district, two more students are reported to have died while contesting the election. After August 28, news of the death of the candidates came from other districts as well. As the controversy over the same grew, the police finally confirmed the total death toll of 11 candidates on September 1, Sunday. The total death toll has now risen to 12 as news of one more candidate has come from Ranchi hospital.

Police spokesperson Amol V Homkar said in an interview that adequate arrangements have been made at all the centres, including medical teams, medicines, ambulances, mobile toilets and drinking water. The incident sparked controversy. BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu criticised the government's appointment policy and demanded compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the families of the deceased candidates and job benefits to their dependents.