E-Paper
TET invigilator arrested in Assam for allegedly leaking question paper
A group of technical experts under the police department are investigating the matter and trying to find the link from where the question paper was initially uploaded
A teacher in Assam has been arrested for allegedly uploading the question paper of Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) 2021, conducted on October 31, on social media platforms, police said.
The question paper was uploaded at around 4 pm after the examination and it immediately went viral. Police detained the teacher on Tuesday evening after the principal of Cachar district’s MHC Higher Secondary School, Mustafizur Rahman, lodged an FIR against him.
The teacher identified as Baharul Alom Kausar Barbhuiya is a resident of Hailakandi district and is employed at MHC Higher Secondary School, which was one of the 60 examination centres in Cachar district. He was the invigilator at the centre.
The question paper had roll and number of a candidate mentioned on it, making it easy to identify the centre from where it was leaked.
During the initial interrogation, Barbhuiya confessed to have taken a photograph of the question paper after the examination was over, however, he claimed it wasn’t uploaded on social media platforms by him.
“I know it was illegal to click a picture of the question paper but I did it to just read them. I am a teacher and I analyse all possible study materials,” Barbhuiya told media persons at Rangirkhari police station on Tuesday. Taking photographs of the question paper is a violation of the TET guidelines, according to which, the booklets should be kept safe until the results are declared.
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“I only shared them [the photographs of the question papers] through WhatsApp with my roommate Aszad Hussain Laskar because he is also a teacher. We also discussed the paper. After returning from duty at around 2:30 pm, I took a nap as I was tired and woke up only after getting calls from friends, who informed me about the question paper leak and how my name was getting involved,” he explained.
Superintendent of police of Cachar district said the teacher has been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. “We have arrested the person based on an FIR lodged by the principal of MHC Higher Secondary School. The accused person will be produced before a court today and the court will decide what punishment he gets.” the SP said.
The police officer said a group of technical experts under the police department are investigating the matter and trying to find the link from where the question paper was initially uploaded.
A departmental probe has also been initiated by the Inspector of Schools of Cachar.
“There is possibility of departmental action against him apart from the actions taken by the judiciary,” said one official from the education department.
