Karnataka Police Constable Recruitment Exam Protest Over OMR Mismatch

A civil police constable recruitment exam for 3,991 posts was held on 2 August 2026 across more than 800 centres in Karnataka, with about 4.54 lakh candidates participating. In Vijayapura district’s Tikota centre, candidates alleged that question papers and OMR answer sheets arrived late and that serial numbers on the two documents did not match, prompting many to walk out and stage a protest outside Sharadamba PU College.

District officials, including Deputy Commissioner Dr Anand K and Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi, inspected the site and said the papers were delivered on time and that mismatched serial numbers are not an error under Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) procedures. KEA reiterated that the examination complied with its Standard Operating Procedure and that OMR sheets were uploaded to its website within 30 minutes of the test.

Opposition leader R Ashoka criticised the state government for the incident. A separate human‑interest moment went viral when women police officers cared for an eight‑month‑old baby of a candidate, allowing the mother to continue the exam.