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UP teachers’ exam cancelled after paper leak, CM Yogi says will invoke NSA
Of the accused, 23 were arrested after they were found in possession of the exam papers on Saturday night, officials said on Sunday. The officials arrested three people from Shamli and two others from Prayagraj on Sunday.
The Uttar Pradesh government cancelled a teachers’ eligibility test hours before it was to start on Sunday after authorities recovered question papers from at least 28 people, prompting chief minister Yogi Adityanath to say that the National Security Act will be invoked against the accused.
Of the accused, 23 were arrested after they were found in possession of the exam papers on Saturday night, officials said on Sunday. The officials arrested three people from Shamli and two others from Prayagraj on Sunday.
A team of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UPSTF) conducted searches at fivelocations in the state after receiving information about the leak, said Prashant Kumar, additional director general, law and order.
“As many as 18 people were arrested from Prayagraj, four from Lucknow, three from Shamli, two from Ayodhya, and one from Kaushambi districts,” the ADG said.
Copies of the question papers were recovered from four people in Lucknow and three people in Shamli, while one person in Kaushambi received handwritten questions on WhatsApp, Kumar said.
Cell phones and some mobile numbers have been recovered from the accused and police are trying to ascertain the point at which the paper was leaked, Kumar said.
Officials suspect a role of officials at the examination agency or at the treasury, where the question paper was kept before distribution. The UP government’s exam regulatory authority (ERA) conducts the exam.
The examination, conducted once a year to test ability to teach primary and upper primary classes in government-run schools in the state, was scheduled in two shifts, from 10am to 12.30pm, and 2.30pm to 5pm, at 2,736 centres across 75 districts of the state.
Over 1.9 million candidates were scheduled to appear for the exam, according to official data.
Three people were arrested from Shamli district on Sunday, deputy superintendent of police of the STF (Meerut circle) Brojesh Singh said. “They were arrested with copies of the leaked paper they had received from a gang in Mathura for ₹5 lakh and (were) going to distribute (it) to candidates in exchange for ₹50,000 from each of them,” said Singh, adding that the arrested persons were being interrogated to collect inputs about people involved in the network.
Issuing a stern warning, CM Yogi Adityanath said, “Those who have committed this act … cases will be registered against them under the Gangsters Act and the National Security Act.”
“Instructions were issued to arrest the gang leaking UPTET (Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test) paper. Prompt action is being taken by identifying the culprits and a case against the culprits will be registered under the Gangsters Act. Those who play with the future of our young sisters and brothers will not be spared at any cost. The people responsible for the inconvenience caused to them will definitely be punished,” he later tweeted.
The government is determined to conduct the examination in a fair and transparent manner, the chief minister said.
“The state government stands with UPTET candidates. The examination will be conducted in a transparent manner within a month. No additional fees will be charged from any candidate. The candidates who were appearing for the examination will be given free travel facility in commuting by UPSRTC (Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) buses,” he said in another tweet.
“UP STF has been asked to probe it and orders have been issued for lodging of the FIR (first information report) in this connection,” said Satish Chandra Dwivedi, the state’s basic education minister. “The culprits would be identified and strict action would be taken against them.”
