BEd exam cancelled in UP after paper leak,4 arrested

After the news reached the Lucknow police around midnight,the papers were verified by the Lucknow University authorities and the exam was called off,said Brij Lal,Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law & Order). The fresh exam will be held on June 19,said GP Tripathi,Registrar,Lucknow University.

The arrests occurred after the Fatehgarh police received a tip-off about a gathering at three photocopier shops at Mohammadabad market,said Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Kumar.

Four men managed to give police the slip and drove off in a Qualis vehicle. The numberplate of the car was fake — the police later found it belonged to a Mahindra jeep.

The arrested men were identified as Brijesh Kumar,Pradip Kumar,Sanjay Dubey and Saurabh. Brijesht is the owner of one of the photocopy shops,the others run private schools in Farrukhabad district.

Computerised sets of papers for General Knowledge (GK),English and Hindi of ‘Section A’ and a handwritten copy of a GK paper were recovered from the men. Around 600 pages had been photocopied,which were seized by the police.

The SP said the coordinator of the test,Prof Akhilesh Chaubey of Lucknow University,confirmed that the computerised set of papers were genuine. The handwritten paper,though,did not match the original.

According to the SP,Brijesh revealed that late on Tuesday evening,two persons came in a SUV and had handed over the papers to two other shopkeepers — Sunil and Rajes—¿¿ who managed to escape during the raid.

“The police chiefs of the 12 districts where the test was to be held,have been asked to conduct an inquiry jointly with the district magistrates and representatives of the Lucknow University (LU),” said Lal.

“I have asked the Superintendents of Police to scan each packets of test paper stored at the DM’s offices.” The accused may have stolen the papers during transportation and the police expect some packets to have broken seals.

Announcing the fresh date for the examination,the Registrar of Lucknow University,GP Tripathi,meanwhile,said: “The same admit cards will remain valid. The BEd Examination procedure was insured by United Insurance Limited and even leakage of papers was covered. We will claim the insurance once the culprit is nailed.”

The results will be declared on July 19. “The Counseling procedure will begin on July 25 and the classes will commence from August 1,” said Anil Sant,Secretary,Higher Education.

The people from printing press,Tripathi said,will be present in the centers for investigation and the police will check whether any of the seals of question papers were broken.

As many as 6.9 lakh students across the state are sitting for the examination.