Paper leak case: An MBBS drop-out, kingpin lived lavishly, lent ₹1cr to friends, say cops

The 37-year-old has allegedly leaked multiple national level test papers, such as those of State Bank of India (SBI), the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) post-graduate examination, and All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT), among others, said investigators.

Before being allegedly involved in leaking the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable Exam, 2023, this February, kingpin Ravi Atri, an MBBS drop-out, had allegedly leaked the papers of several prestigious government recruitment examinations over the past 15 years, said officers of the Uttar Pradesh special task force (UP STF), the agency investigating the paper leak, said on Wednesday.

Ravi Atri in UP special task force custody on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The 37-year-old has allegedly leaked multiple national level test papers, such as those of State Bank of India (SBI), the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) post-graduate examination, and All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT), among others, said investigators.

UP STF officers said he lived lavishly from the money he got by leaking papers of various tests and had allegedly loaned around ₹1 crore to his friends and was not concerned about getting it back.

Brijesh Kumar Singh, assistant superintendent of police, STF, Meerut xone, said Atri hailed from a small village in Jewar, Greater Noida.

“Atri, who is unmarried, resides with his family in Neemka Village in Jewar, Greater Noida. He has two brothers,” said the officer.

He added, “His older brother is an army man posted in Sudan, North Africa, while the younger one is a farmer. His father, who has around 20 acres of agriculture land, is also a farmer.”

The ASP said, as per their investigation, Atri joined the paper leak gang 15 years ago in 2007, when he was preparing for a medical examination in Kota, Rajasthan. A man named Atul Vats, a resident of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, lured him into the racket of paper leaks after offering him money.”

Initially, he worked as a paper solver ( appearing in pace of the original candidate). Thereafter, Atri allegedly leaked the AIIMS postgraduation examination test and SBI test paper, both in 2012, and was arrested in both cases before being released on bail. In 2015, he leaked the AIPMT test paper and got arrested and jailed again, Singh said.

“After that, he secured admission to Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, after clearing the Haryana Pre-Medical Test (PMT),” said Singh. But Atri did not complete the course and dropped out in the fourth semester in 2018.

“Atri’s daily expenses were around ₹20,000, and he mostly stayed in luxury hotels. For the past 15 days, he was staying at a five-star hotel in Delhi,” said Singh.

“As he was not good at recovering money he loaned, Atri asked Rajeev Nayan Mishra, another suspect in the paper leak case, to manage his finances for him. Atri’s bank account details are being scanned,” said Singh.