Even as the Punjab government has cancelled the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET) following irregularities, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday suspended two professors of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) in the case and ordered their arrest immediately.

The CM said Prof Hardeep Singh and Professor of the Department of Computer Science and Prof Ravinder Singh Sawhney of the Department of Electronics Technology,  GNDU have been placed under suspension with immediate effect.

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Mann has directed the police department to immediately arrest the perpetrators of the PSTET exam irregularities. He asked the police force to take exemplary action against the guilty so that it acts as a deterrent for others.

The CM said the irregularities in the examination are a fraud with the careers of the youth which can never be tolerated. He said this is a heinous crime which is unwarranted and undesirable due to which he has directed the police to take stringent action against the culprits.

Mann said this is a government of hope and new Punjab adding that any such breach of trust is not at all acceptable. The CM said the state government is duty bound to ensure that the guilty of this case is out behind the bars at the earliest.

Mann said any sort of callousness in this prestigious exam will not be tolerated. He said that no one, however affluent he may be, will be spared in this case.

In the PSTET examination on Sunday, answers were provided in the bold text in the question paper of the social studies (SST).

“To maintain complete fairness in our examination process, a PS level probe has been ordered to look in to PSTET exam conducted by a third Party with A++ NAAC grade i.e. GNDU.Accountability will be fixed & those found guilty will be booked for criminal negligence,” Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains said in a tweet today following reports of irregularities.

Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), the exam conducting body, has announced that a re-examination will be conducted for all candidates. No fee will be charged to the affected candidates.

PSTET is an annual examination that is conducted to certify candidates’ eligibility to teach in Punjab State Education Board-affiliated schools.