New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has closed its probe into the suspected leak of the UGC-NET paper last year after being unable to find any evidence to suggest this, agency officials said on Thursday adding that a young student had leaked a fake question paper to make money.
The leak set off a chain of events that resulted in the exam being cancelled over suspicion that it had been leaked on the darknet and the paper was available over Telegram, and resulted in the federal agency’s investigation.
The exam, originally scheduled for June 18 last year, was finally conducted between August 26 and September 5.
CBI, registered a first information report (FIR) in the matter on June 19.
“Our probe revealed that the screenshot of the leaked question paper for the June 18 exam was a doctored document circulated by a student to make some money. It was circulated on Telegram channels in the afternoon of examination day before the second shift, giving the impression that it was leaked and the person circulating may have had access to the paper,” said an agency officer who asked not to be named.
The probe, this person added, revealed that a student doctored the image and date and time stamp using an app.
{{/usCountry}}The probe, this person added, revealed that a student doctored the image and date and time stamp using an app.
{{/usCountry}}“Since we found no evidence of leak or any conspiracy, which benefitted any candidate during the exam, we have closed the case,” said a second CBI officer, who also requested anonymity.
The federal agency had earlier sent a detailed report to the Union ministry of education informing about its findings.
UGC-NET exam is held in June and December every year to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for the award of Junior Research Fellowship, appointment as assistant professors, and admission to doctoral programmes in Indian universities and colleges.
It is conducted by the National Testing Agency, which also conducts several other exams including NEET, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, for admission to medical colleges. Fears that the integrity of NET may have been compromised came shortly after reports of serious discrepancies in the conduct of NEET in May.
Around 1.1 million candidates registered for the exam last year.
The examination was cancelled on the basis of inputs received from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) .