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2 accused of paper leak got 42nd, 53rd ranks in SSSC exam: Uttarakhand cops
The Uttarakhand police arrested six persons in connection with the SSSC exam paper leak case and seized ₹37 lakh from their possession on Sunday
Two of the six accused, arrested on Sunday in connection with the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) exam paper leak case, appeared for the same test in December last year and secured 42nd and 53rd ranks, police said on Tuesday.
The duo, Manoj Joshi, a junior clerk at a Sitarganj court in US Nagar, and Gaurav Negi, a private school teacher in Kichha in US Nagar, secured 42nd and 53rd rank, respectively, in the UKSSSC exam attended by 1.6 lakh candidates, said senior superintendent of police (STF), Ajay Singh.
He said that a computer programmer associated with UKSSSC through an outsourcing company, a former Class IV employee in UKSSSC, a director of a coaching institute in Dehradun are also among the six accused who are part of the exam paper leak racket.
The Special Task Force (STF), which arrested the six accused on Sunday, also recovered ₹37 lakh from their possession which they allegedly took from the candidates.
“It is very early to say how many candidates got the leaked question papers in exchange of money. It will only be revealed during further questioning of the accused. More arrests of ‘co-conspirators’ are expected in the case in the coming days. Selected candidates will also be quizzed,” the SSP said.
According to the police officer, they charged around ₹10-12 lakh per candidate and lured candidates from various coaching institutes in different cities through their links.
He said during their investigation it came to light those one of the six accused, a computer programmer who was associated with UKSSSC since 2015 through an outsourcing company, was paid ₹60 lakh for the paper leak.
“The computer programmer extracted questions in the guise of technical reasons. Then, through the other accused, engaged candidates in rote learning of leaked questions a day before the exams at a resort in Ramnagar,” he said.
The exam was held to fill 916 graduate-level vacancies. Over 2.50 lakh candidates applied for the exam and 1.60 lakh appeared for the same.
Who are the six accused?
1. Manoj Joshi, a resident of Almora, who was a Class IV employee in the UKSSSC office in Raipur between 2014-15 and 18. He was sacked on a departmental complaint.
2. Jayjeet Das, a resident of Dehradun, who had been associated with the UKSSSC as computer programmer since 2015 through an outsourcing company, RMS Technosolutions India Pvt Ltd.
3. Another Manoj Joshi, a resident of Champawat, who is a government job aspirant and a junior clerk in US Nagar court.
4. Kulveer Singh, who is a director of a coaching institute called Delta Defence Coaching Institute in Dehradun’s Dalanwala.
5. Shoorveer Singh, a resident of Dehradun’s Kalsi, who works at the Delta coaching institute.
6. Gaurav Negi, who is a teacher in a private school in US Nagar’s Kichha and a government job aspirant.
Divulging details about their connection with each other, a police officer said, “First, Manoj, the former Class IV employee, and Das, the computer programmer, met at the commission office and hatched a conspiracy. As Manoj Joshi, the court clerk, was an aspirant, he used to frequently visit the commission’s office where he met Manoj, the Class 4 employee. Manoj, the court clerk, took coaching at Kulveer’s coaching institute and later started teaching there before he became clerk at the court. He was known to another accused Negi who was also an aspirant. They all, in connivance with each other, hatched the conspiracy and ₹60 lakh was given to the computer programmer who leaked 80 questions from the paper. Meanwhile, Kulveer and Shoorveer identified some candidates at the coaching institute who were ready to pay money for the leaked questions.”
On Friday, a case in this regard was registered at Raipur police station under Section 420 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of undersecretary of USSSC, Rajan Naithani, the officials said.
The arrests came after an association of unemployed youths submitted a memorandum in this regard to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who ordered director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar to take necessary action into the matter.
The police chief ordered the registration of the FIR and handed over the probe to the STF considering the seriousness of the issue.
