UP holds ‘largest police exam’, 3.2 million candidates compete for 60,000 positions

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated the candidates, the UPPRPB, district administrations and the state police for the “smooth and fair” conduct of the examination.

The new round of recruitment to fill more than 60,000 vacancies was made necessary after exams scheduled for February 17 and 18 were cancelled following allegations of a paper leak.

The Uttar Pradesh State Transport Corporation is providing free bus services including free travel on electric buses in various districts to candidates.

The UPPRPB examination centres and surrounding areas, which have been the scene of allegations of paper leaks earlier, have been put on high security this time around and all candidates were required to verify their Aadhaar details, an official statement said on Saturday evening.

In addition, 16,440 consultation rooms in 1,174 centres across the state have been equipped with CCTV and monitored by artificial intelligence, while over 2,300 magistrates and over a lakh police personnel have been deployed.

“Heartfelt congratulations to all the candidates for the fair, transparent and peaceful completion of the 2023 written examination conducted for selection of over 60,200 posts in the civil police,” Adityanath posted on X in Hindi.

“May all the energetic and disciplined youths who take part in the examination achieve the desired results and may they all have a bright future ahead of them; I wish them endless good luck!” he said.

“Our heartfelt thanks go to all those who helped in successfully and safely conducting the world’s largest civil police recruitment examination, to the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board and to the district administrations of all the districts,” he added.

The Prime Minister said more than 15,000 women will be recruited in the selection process of over 60,000 police officers.

“The examination was conducted fairly and smoothly. This will further enrich the model of security and good governance in Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

According to the official statement, more than 32 lakh candidates appeared in the exam, which was conducted in two phases and over five days.

“The Uttar Pradesh government has maintained transparency and integrity by taking unprecedented measures including conducting the examination only in government schools to further ensure fairness,” the statement said.

All necessary measures were taken to avoid inconvenience to the candidates. To achieve this, 2,300 magistrates and 1,97,859 police personnel were deployed while CCTVs with artificial intelligence were installed to monitor the proceedings, the report said.

The security measures, both inside and outside the exam centres, also kept cheaters and gangs trying to make mistakes at bay, it was also said.

Moreover, the Uttar Pradesh police kept a close watch on various platforms, including WhatsApp and social media, and intelligence agencies were on round-the-clock alert to anticipate any potential problems.

Besides strict surveillance, the board conducted Aadhaar verification for the candidates before the exam. While 85 percent of the candidates’ Aadhaar details were confirmed, the remaining 15 percent had to undergo eKYC verification at the exam centres, to deter those with fraudulent intentions, the board said.

“Data analytics was also an important part of the integrity measures of the exam. Candidate details were matched within half an hour of the commencement of the exam in each shift. Any discrepancies resulted in immediate action, with lists of suspects being provided to nodal officers for follow-up,” the press release said.

“This rigorous approach not only minimized the problem of cheating, but also resulted in the arrest of individuals who attempted to circumvent the system, thereby strengthening the integrity of the exam,” the report said.

The elaborate security apparatus set up to ensure the safety and integrity of the police recruitment examination involved the deployment of 1,97,859 police personnel, including 25 companies of the Provincial Armed Police Force (PAC) and 8 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), the statement said.

In addition, 137 additional police chiefs, 522 deputy police chiefs, 47,587 chief constables, 86,844 officers and 26,582 female officers were deployed.

In addition, 3,876 inspectors, comprising 3,740 male and 136 female inspectors, and 32,311 sub-inspectors, including 30,220 male and 2,091 female sub-inspectors, were appointed to supervise the investigation, it added.

To further enhance the security of the exam, 74 police officers were stationed at the exam centers.

Strict candidate verification procedures have been implemented at the examination centres, including physical frisking, security checks using handheld metal detectors (HHMD) and biometric verification through fingerprint and facial recognition, the statement said.