CBI files chargesheet in Uttarakhand service selection commission 'paper leak' case

Dehradun: The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a chargesheet in the alleged paper leak case linked to the graduate-level recruitment examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission, sources said on Tuesday.

According to the CBI sources, the chargesheet was filed on Saturday in the court of Special CBI Judge Madan Ram in Dehradun. Those named as accused are Mohammad Khalid, his sister Sabia, and Suman, a suspended assistant professor from a government degree college in Tehri.

During the filing of the chargesheet, Khalid and Sabia appeared before the court through video conferencing, while Suman was produced in person, the sources said. All three are currently in judicial custody.

The case came to light after three pages of a question paper went viral on social media during the examination held on September 21 for recruitment to various government departments.

The incident triggered protests across Uttarakhand, prompting the state government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Following protests by unemployed youth, the state government handed over the investigation to the CBI.

The examination, in which over one lakh candidates had appeared for 416 posts, was subsequently cancelled on October 11. The CBI registered the case in late October.

After taking custody of Khalid and Sabia, who were earlier arrested by the police, investigators examined their mobile phones and other evidence. This led to the arrest of Suman, an assistant professor at Shaheed Srimati Hansa Dhanai Rajkiya Mahavidyalaya, Agrora, Tehri Garhwal, for her alleged role in the conspiracy.

Investigation revealed that Khalid, who appeared as a candidate at an examination centre in Haridwar, used a mobile phone hidden at the centre to send images of three pages of the question paper to his sister, Sabia. She then forwarded the images to Suman to solve. Once Suman provided the answers, they were sent back.

According to the probe, Suman shared the pages with another person, who later uploaded them on social media, causing the leak to go viral. Suman had already been suspended from service following the allegations.