J&K govt terminates services of EX-BOPEE chairman as consultant

Jammu and Kashmir government has terminated the post-retirement contractual services of former BOPEE chairman Mushtaq Ahmed Peer, accused in question paper leakage scandal during common entrance test (CET).

Jammu and Kashmir government has terminated the post-retirement contractual services of former BOPEE chairman Mushtaq Ahmed Peer, accused in question paper leakage scandal during common entrance test (CET).

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After retirement, the former Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) chairman was appointed as consultant to the state government on May 5 this year.

"The contractual appointment of Prof Mushtaq Ahmad Peer, as consultant is hereby terminated with immediate effect," Secretary to Government, General Administration Department (GAD), Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari, said in an order.

Peer had yesterday appeared before the crime branch in Srinagar in connection with the case of the alleged sale of CET question papers last year.

Police had conducted raids at his residences in Jammu and Srinagar in connection with the probe.

Some incriminating documents were recovered from the Hazratbal (Srinagar) and Sidhra (Jammu) residences of Peer, sources said.

The crime branch probe into the case started after a written complaint was received earlier this year that 12 candidates had qualified through the CET 2012 exam by purchasing the question papers from a syndicate that included some officials who were close to the then BOPEE chairman.

According to the complaint, the said 12 students benefited from the scam and found admission at professional colleges in the state.

The suspicion of wrongdoing grew stronger when crime branch sleuths found that the said students had topped CET 2012 despite having below-average academic records.