BPSC cancels PT exam after question leak, probe handed over to cyber cell

PATNA: Barely few hours after the 67th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination was over, the Bihar Public Service Commission(BPSC) cancelled it on the recommendation of a three-man inquiry committee, constituted by the commission chairman RK Mahajan to submit its recommendations on reports of question leak ahead of the exam

PATNA: Barely few hours after the 67th Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination was over, the Bihar Public Service Commission(BPSC) cancelled it on the recommendation of a three-man inquiry committee, constituted by the commission chairman RK Mahajan to submit its recommendations on reports of question leak ahead of the exam.

Aspirants leave after appearing for the BPSC exam in Patna on Sunday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

In a communique, BPSC announced the cancellation of the exam and simultaneously requested the Bihar director general of Police (DGP) to get the cyber cell examine how the leaked question paper went viral.

The committee headed by BPSC secretary Juit Singh submitted its report in the evening itself to the chairman as the matter took political overtones and reports about students’ anger started emerging. Singh had earlier said that prima facie the question paper of Set-C appeared to have been leaked from some exam centre ahead of the exams after the seals were opened.

“The BPSC name should be changed to ‘Bihar Lok Paper Leak Ayog’ for playing with the life of crores of youth and candidates,” tweeted Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. Other leaders also joined him.

The commission, on its part, wasted no time in ordering an inquiry into the alleged leak of questions during PT exam held on Sunday across the state at 1,083 centers, including some new ones. The first of the two-stage exam was conducted for 802 vacancies and over six lakh candidates applied for it.

The secretary said that the timing of the leak pointed towards foul play from some exam centre. “The commission was informed about question paper leak and reports of it getting viral around 12.06 pm through WhatsApp by a TV channel and the exam had commenced by then,” said Singh.

It is the first time that a BPSC question paper was leaked and went it viral, though reports of leak of question papers of other exams have been reported in the past. There were reports from districts about question paper being exchanged through WhatsApp, Telegram, and other social media platforms ahead of the exam.

“The information was regarding Set C and when verified it was found to be true. But by the time the information arrived, the exam had started. But once the leak was established, there was only one option left - to cancel the exam,” said a senior official, adding that the cyber cell would get to the bottom of the matter and identify the culprits as to how and when the question paper was leaked.

Singh said that the highest number of candidates - over six lakh compared to 4-4.5 lakh earlier - took the exam this year and therefore, many new centres were also used for the exam. “The seal of the question papers is opened half an hour before the scheduled start of the exam. The exam began at 12 noon and the question paper of Set C seems to have been leaked around after 11.30 pm, when the seal of question papers was opened, from any of the centres. The probability shows that it happened from one or more of the centres,” he said.

The ruling JD(U) said those involved behind the question paper leak would be punished following a thorough inquiry. “ This is the first time, a question paper leak has happened in examinations conducted by BPSC during the NDA rule. Though we have brought in lot of transparency in the system of conducting examination, this latest episode of question paper leak is a challenge for the government. Those found to be involved in the leak would be punished,” said, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.

State spokesperson of the opposition RJD, Mritunjay Tiwary said the state government led by chief minister Nitish Kumar was answerable to lakhs of students, who have been adversely affected by the paper leak and cancellation of the BPSC PT examination today. “ The question paper leak in a BPSC examination shows how the education system in the state has collapsed. Government has to give answers,” he said.

Congress senior leader and spokesperson, Harku Jha said the paper leak in BPSC examination was a reflection of how in the last 16 years of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s tenure in power, education system has badly deteriorated. “ In last 16 years of CM Kumar’s tenure, education has suffered maximum deterioration. Today’s question paper leak in BPSC PT exam is reflection of it,” he said.