DEHRADUN: After angry widespread protests rocked the capital city of Uttarakhand over allegations of the question paper leak of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) exam, which was held on Sunday, the state government has announced a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The SIT probe on the alleged leak of three pages of a question paper of the UKSSSC graduate-level examination will be supervised by a retired High Court judge. The SIT will submit its report within a month, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan said at a press conference here. An Additional Superintendent of Police will lead the probe team, which will have jurisdiction over the entire state to conduct a thorough investigation into the UKSSSC leak on Sunday, he said.
Screenshots of three pages of the question paper for the graduate-level competitive examination conducted by the commission on September 21 went viral on social media, showing that the pictures were taken shortly after the examination began. The alleged paper leak caused a huge stir across the state.
Bardhan said the SIT will operate under the full supervision of a retired High Court judge to ensure a fair and independent investigation.
He said that the retired judge will visit all districts of the state, adding that anyone can come forward to share information or details related to the case with the judge or the SIT. The interests of students are paramount for the state government, he said, adding that the SIT probe was ordered to maintain the “credibility and purity” of examinations among the students. The chief secretary said the SIT will complete the entire investigation process within one month. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty, he added.
Bardhan said all necessary steps will be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future. He added that action will be taken against the room inspector or supervisor posted at the concerned examination centre in Haridwar, or any other person whose negligence led to the alleged leak.
The chief secretary also requested the UKSSSC to refrain from taking any action regarding the examination until the investigation is complete.
On Tuesday, police arrested Khalid Malik, the main accused in the alleged leak, and his sister Sabia, who appeared as candidates in the examination, from Haridwar.
According to police, Khalid took a picture of the question paper from the examination centre set up at Adarsh Bal Sadan Inter College, Bahadurpur Jat village in the Pathri area of Haridwar. He, then, sent it to his sister, Sabia, who then sent the questions to Suman, an assistant professor in Tehri, and obtained the answers.
Suman shared the screenshots with another person, who uploaded them on social media, which then went viral.
On Wednesday also, Uttarakhand saw widespread protests against the state government over alleged large-scale rigging.
The Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangathan and other outfits have called on people to march to Dehradun to protest against the state government. Hundreds of youth have been stationed in the capital’s Parade Ground since claims of the leak came out on Sunday.
Members of state youth body, Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangathan held a large protest near the city’s Parade Ground pulling up the govt for “systemic failure to prevent recurring exam scams and paper leaks”. “UKSSSC paper leak scam was earlier busted in 2022 in which the mastermind Hakam Singh and over 50 others were arrested. Singh has been out on bail since Sept 2023 and was re-arrested on Saturday for trying to facilitate cheating in Sunday’s UKSSSC recruitment exam.