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Odisha SSC cancels examination over alleged paper leaks

Odisha Staff Selection Commission chairman Abhay said the examination conducted on July 16 have been cancelled and the next exam will be held on September 3

Updated on: Jul 24, 2023, 12:09:12 IST
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The Odisha Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on Sunday cancelled the main written examination for the position of junior engineer (civil) after police found that the question papers were leaked by an inter-state racket.

The question papers of the civil main written exam were leaked before the examination. (Representative file image)
The question papers of the civil main written exam were leaked before the examination. (Representative file image)

Odisha Staff Selection Commission chairman Abhay said the examination conducted on July 16 have been cancelled and the next exam will be held on September 3.

The OSSC Combined Technical Services recruitment drive is being conducted to fill a total of 1,225 vacancies, of which 1,008 are for the post of junior engineer (civil) in various departments and 217 are for assistant training officer (ATO).

Balasore SP Sagarika Nath said it is clear that the question papers of the civil main written exam were leaked before the examination.

Also Read: Paper leak: HPPSC to hold pending exams

Question papers seized before the examination matched the original question papers.

“A day before the actual examination, the accused took around 100 job aspirants, a majority of them B Tech graduates, to a hotel in Digha beach in several vehicles and gave them question papers. Following a tip-off, our team raided the hotel and arrested Bijendra Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Raj Kumar (all from Bihar), Mohammad Siddique from Visakhapatnam, Biswaranjan Mohapatra, Siana Parveen, Mohammed Kamiruddin and Mustaquin Khan (all from Odisha). The 9 accused were taking 8-10 lakh for each question paper. They also ran similar racket in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. However, we are yet to arrest the mastermind of the racket,” said the SP.

The SP said the accused claimed to have in possession the question papers of some competitive examinations for Group-B and Group-C posts conducted by different recruiting agencies of the state and central governments.

  • Debabrata Mohanty
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Debabrata Mohanty

    Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More