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UP: English board exam cancelled after paper leak, probe on
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a special task force to investigate the matter and provisions of the stringent National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked against those found guilty.
The class 12 English language examination of the Uttar Pradesh secondary education board was cancelled in 24 districts on Wednesday after the question paper was leaked in Ballia district, a government release said.
The cancellation came hours before the exam was slated to start. The Ballia district inspector of schools has been suspended in connection with the case, according to the release. The state board examinations for classes 10 and 12 began on March 24.
“The districts in which the exam was cancelled following the paper leak are: Agra, Mainpuri, Mathura, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Unnao, Sitapur, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Jalaun, Chitrakoot, Ambedkarnagar, Pratapgarh, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Ballia, Varanasi, Kanpur Dehat, Etah and Shamli,” said additional chief secretary (secondary education) Aradhana Shukla.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a special task force to investigate the matter and provisions of the stringent National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked against those found guilty, according to the release.
“The chief minister has taken a strong view of the paper leak. District inspector of schools (DIOS), Ballia, Brijesh Kumar Mishra has been suspended with immediate effect. A Special Task Force (STF) has been handed over the probe into the paper leak. NSA [National Security Act] would be invoked against whoever is found guilty in this connection,” the release said.
The examination was conducted in the remaining 51 districts, the release said, adding that it would be held in these 24 districts on April 13.
Secondary education minister Gulab Devi said the government has taken a serious view of the paper leak incident and all those who would be found involved would be seriously dealt with.
The STF has been pressed in to investigate and zero in on people involved, said UP police additional director general (ADG), Law and Order, Prashant Kumar. He said some people have been taken into custody in Ballia and further investigation is underway.
According to a police officer familiar with the investigation, an officer from the STF was questioning people in Ballia regarding the leak. The STF is trying to create a timeline to track the leak and identify those responsible, the officer said.
The examination was scheduled to be held from 2pm to 5.15 pm across the state on Wednesday.
According to ADG Kumar, the Ballia district magistrate and superintendent of police first received information at around 10.15pm about the leak. On verification, the information was found to be accurate, he said.
Director of secondary education, Vinay Kumar Pandey, said the question paper series 316 ED and 316 EI were leaked and these papers had been sent to the 24 districts in question.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the state government over the issue. “Even in the second innings of BJP in Uttar Pradesh, the business of getting the question paper leak continues unabated,” he tweeted.
“The youth are saying that the BJP government which has failed to provide employment deliberately does not want to allow any examination to be completed,” he wrote.
In November last year, the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) examination was cancelled hours before the scheduled start as the question paper had been leaked. More than 20 people have been arrested in connection with the case so far.
As many as 5.1 million students, including 2.7 million class 10 students and 2.4 million class 12 students are are registered to appear in the 2022 UP board examinations.
