UP Board exam: Most of the 22 arrested for paper leak are teachers, say police

“Some of those arrested are assistant teachers, and some invigilators,” said a police officer, refusing to divulge further details.

Ballia police on Wednesday filed three FIRs at three police stations and arrested 22 people – 15 in Nagra, five in Sikandarpur and two in Kotwali.

All the accused have been booked under IPC section 420 (cheating), and sections of the UP Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, and Information Technology Act.

Refusing to comment on DIOS Mishra’s role, Ballia Superintendent of Police Raj Karan Nayyar said, “It will be wrong to give any comment on his role as the probe is ongoing… However, the DIOS was the custodian of the papers. He has been named in the FIR. He selected the centres and was the only deciding authority in the selection of centres. All these aspects are under investigation.”

A senior official of the UP Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad said that the boxes containing the question papers were not tampered with.

On Wednesday, the English exam of the UP Board’s Class XII exam was cancelled in 24 districts after one of the two sets of question papers got leaked in Ballia. The English exam will now be held on April 13.

The UP government has ordered a probe by the Special Task Force (STF) with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordering the police to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against the accused.

Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra, meanwhile, directed officials to maintain a logbook in each of the exam centres where papers are kept, and entry and exit of all persons be strictly recorded.

The chief secretary also told senior police officers to ensure a thorough probe into the leak, and to track messages on social media to nab all the people involved in it.

Education Minister Gulab Devi, meanwhile, visited an exam centre in Lucknow on Thursday to oversee arrangements for the ongoing examinations.