12 in MP recruitment exam flagged for 9-second-per-question pace; FIR filed

An FIR has been registered against the candidates for cheating and dishonestly inducing a person to deliver a valuable security or a signed or sealed document

Published on: Mar 2, 2026, 20:49:54 IST

By Shruti Tomar, BHOPAL

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The Madhya Pradesh police on Monday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against 12 candidates in the 2024 Excise Constable online recruitment exam after system alerts revealed they all completed their 100-question paper in just 15 minutes last year.

Praneet Sijariya, MPESB’s principal system analyst, said the candidates answered all questions only in the final minutes of the exam. (PEXEL/Representative Image)

An FIR has been registered against the candidates and an unknown person under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to cheating and dishonestly inducing a person to deliver a valuable security or a signed or sealed document.

The 12 exam papers were red-flagged during an analysis of online exam data for successful candidates. A total of 1,10,032 candidates had appeared for the Excise Constable Recruitment Examination conducted between September 9 and September 21, 2025, to fill 243 posts.

The Madhya Pradesh Employee Selection Board (MPESB) had conducted the exam. In the results declared on February 5, the board withheld the results for the 12 candidates.

According to the FIR, the 12 candidates did almost nothing but scroll through their online exam papers for the first 30 minutes, before answering 100 questions in the last 15 minutes, averaging one answer every 9 seconds.

Praneet Sijariya, MPESB’s principal system analyst, said the candidates answered all questions only in the final minutes of the exam.

“CCTV footage and system data were examined, revealing that an unknown person had provided an answer sheet to the candidates through unfair means. Based on the preliminary report, a complaint was filed at MP Nagar police station and later transferred to Ratlam. The police have now begun an investigation,” he told HT.

A senior police officer said the person who assisted the candidates was believed to be the key link between them and the larger network

Officials said this is the first time that data analysis has been used to detect irregularities in the examination.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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