College professor arrested in Uttarakhand recruitment exam paper leak case

She is the third person to be arrested by the CBI, which is investigating the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission question paper leak case.

According to a press release from the central agency, the accused, identified as Suman, is an assistant professor at Shaheed Srimati Hansa Dhanai College in Agrora

The CBI on Friday arrested an assistant professor of a college in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal in connection with its investigation into the purported leak of an Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) exam question paper.

According to a press release from the central agency, the accused, identified as Suman, is an assistant professor at Shaheed Srimati Hansa Dhanai College in Agrora. She is accused of being part of the conspiracy, along with two other accused persons — Khalid Malik and his sister Sabia — who have also been arrested.

The CBI took over the case after the Uttarakhand government recommended a probe. “After thorough examination of the accused (Khalid Malik) and his sister in police custody and evaluation of the mobile phones and other evidence, the role of the Assistant Professor has come on record. The accused shall be produced before the designated court after medical examination,” the agency said.

The CBI communication further said that the probe revealed the professor had allegedly assisted the main accused in solving part of the question paper received through his sister during the exam and sent the solution back when he was inside the exam hall.

The recruitment test was declared null following a protest by job aspirants in the state.

The test had been undertaken for graduate-level posts across all districts of the state on September 21. After the examination concluded around 1.30 pm, screenshots of three pages of the question paper began circulating on social media. The president of Swabhiman Morcha, Bobby Panwar, who posted the images, claimed that the question paper was answered by Suman for a candidate. The candidate had allegedly smuggled an iPhone into the centre and sent the photos to his sister, who got it solved and sent it back.

Protests lasted for a week before Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promised to recommend a CBI probe into the matter.

Aiswarya Raj

Aiswarya Raj is a correspondent with The Indian Express covering Uttarakhand. An alumna of Asian College of Journalism and the University of Kerala, she started her career at The Indian Express as a sub-editor in the Delhi city team. In her previous position, she covered Gurugaon and its neighbouring districts. She likes to tell stories of people and hopes to find moorings in narrative journalism. ... Read More

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