A young man in New Delhi is seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention after the Indian Railways denied him a job him despite securing 96 percent in a recruitment exam.
It was in December 2013 that 31-year-old Lalit Kumar appeared in the Northern Railway Group D exam. When the results were declared, he did not find his name in the list. Convinced that something was wrong, he chose to file a query under the Right to Information Act.
After a year, he got a reply that his candidature was cancelled by the Railway Recruitment Cell because it was felt that he could have scored 96 percent marks, way above the cut-off mark, only by using unfair means.
Not satisfied with the response, Lalit kept going to the Central Public Information Officer in the Northern Railway office at Baroda House in the capital.
Seeing his persistence, officials told him to file an appeal with the Central Information Commission.
Lalit said, “I filed my appeals with the First Appellate Authority and CIC. Finally, in July 2015, CIC fixed the appeal for hearing though the FAA didn’t respond.”
On 10 August, the CIC asked the CPIO, which alleged that Lalit used unfair means in the examination, to provide the reasons to Lalit within 30 days explaining why he was not selected.
“They didn’t have any proof or evidence that I was involved in cheating or used unfair means. I challenge them to prove it,” says Lalit.
Lalit has now written to the Prime Minister’s Office, seeking justice. “This is my last resort. All I want is a fair probe and justice,” he added.
“I come from a poor family. My father needs constant care as he is paralysed and is bedridden. The result of the exam meant a lot to me and my family,” he explained.
Lalit is now pursuing Bachelor of Social Work at the Indira Gandhi National Open University. He also works for the Delhi Transport Corporation as a conductor to support his family.
(IANS)