Uttarakhand STF makes first arrest in UKSSSC secretariat guard exam paper leak

The accused, Pradeep Pal, a resident of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, was associated with the UKSSSC as a computer operator through a Lucknow-based outsourcing agency

The special task force of the Uttarakhand police made its first arrest in the Uttarakhand subordinate service selection commission (UKSSSC) secretariat guard exam question paper leak, a senior official said on Saturday..

Five other accused in the in UKSSSC secretariat guard exam paper leak were earlier arrested in the UKSSSC graduate-level paper leak case. (Representative Image)

The accused, Pradeep Pal, a resident of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, was associated with the UKSSSC as a computer operator through Lucknow-based RMS Techno Solutions India Private Limited, an outsourcing agency. He stole the soft copy of the question paper during the printing process and handed it over to the other accused in a pen drive and they further sold it to candidates at a cost between ₹6 lakh and ₹10 lakh, said senior superintendent of police (SSP), STF, Ajay Singh. He said they arrested him after gathering concrete technical evidence during the investigation into the matter.

The secretariat guard question paper was printed at the UKSSSC office under the watch of CCTV cameras, the footage of which was crucial in the arrest of the accused, he added.

The officer also urged the candidates who cleared the secretariat guard examination through unfair means to join the investigation or face action.

Six people were named as accused in the first information report (FIR) registered at Dehradun’s Raipur police station in the case. Among the six accused, five were earlier arrested in the UKSSSC graduate-level paper leak case except for Pradeep.

They are Jayjeet Das of Dehradun, Deepak Chauhan, a resident of Tehri Garhwal, Kulveer Singh, a resident of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, Manoj Joshi of Champawat and Manoj Joshi of Almora.

They were booked under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 9 and 10 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act.

According to an official not wishing to be named, Hakam Singh Rawat, the suspected mastermind in the UKSSSC graduate-level paper leak, could also be made an accused in the secretariat guard paper leak case once concrete evidence against him is gathered.