26-year-old booked for HRTC paper leak

The accused, Manoj Kumar, a resident of Bhaunka village in Jawali sub-division of the district, is at large.

A 26-year-old man was booked in connection with the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) Conductor Recruitment paper leak.

The accused, Manoj Kumar, a resident of Bhaunka village in Jawali sub-division of the district, is at large. The paper was leaked on social media minutes after the exam started on Sunday. The exam was being conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC).

Around 60,000 candidates had appeared for the exam conducted across 304 centres. Kangra senior superintended of police (SSP) Vimukt Ranjan said the HPSSC secretary filed an online complaint at Shahpur police station stating that a candidate who appeared for the exam at the Himachal Institute and Technology (HIET) near Shahpur had shared photos of the paper on social media.

“The accused has been booked under section 7 of Malpractices Act, 1984,” said Ranjan , adding that efforts were on to nab him. Photographs of some pages of the question paper had started circulating within half-an-hour of the start of the exam.

The leak was first detected at a Shimla centre where a candidate was caught clicking photographs by an invigilator. He had send the images to his brother on WhatsApp but was yet to get a response.

The candidate who leaked the paper from the Shimla centre was arrested from his home in Rohru on Sunday.

Another candidate was caught with a phone at the Solan centre. His phone also had photographs of the question paper but he had not shared them when he was apprehended.

Meanwhile, HPSSC has banned the accused from appearing in any exam for three years.