Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh police arrested 21 people including students, 'solvers' and gang leaders for allegedly using unfair means during the Lekhpal recruitment exam Sunday, with officials saying these were "individual cases of impersonation" while the Samajwadi Party alleged a paper "leak".
The Lekhpal recruitment mains examination was conducted Sunday at 501 centres in 12 districts of the state in which nearly 2.50 lakh candidates appeared, Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission Chairman Praveer Kumar said.
Kumar said the centres for the single-shift examination were in Ayodhya, Aligarh, Agra, Bareilly, Meerut, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Moradabad, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi.
He rejected allegations, including by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, that the papers were leaked. But action was taken by the Special Task Force of the state police against those who indulged in malpractices.
"Twenty-one persons hailing from different districts of the state including gang leaders and candidates were arrested on Sunday in connection with the use of unfair means, and deploying solvers, and for taking a handsome amount from candidates," the Uttar Pradesh STF said in a statement issued here.
It said the first arrests were made form Prayagraj where Narendra Kumar Patel and Sandeep Patel -- the latter was allegedly found solving the paper sitting in a car -- were nabbed following a tip-off and interrogated.