Army Recruitment Board exam paper leaks; 18 arrested, 350 detained

The police said the students were caught in simultaneous raids while in the middle of practice in halls in Pune, Nagpur and the terrace of a bar near Vagator beach at Goa

The crime branch arrested 18 people and detained 350 students from, Pune, Goa and Nagpur for leaking the questions for the Army Recruitment Board exam scheduled for Sunday. The Thane crime branch took action based on a tip-off by a local man, who runs tutorial classes.

Officials with a copy of the leaked exam paper. (HT Photo)

The exam was to be held at 9am on Sunday, but has been postponed to next month, sources said. A police inspector from Thane crime branch said, “We have informed the Army headquarters and an investigation is under way. Students were given the questions and were made to practice writing answers at various venues in Pune, Goa and Nagpur.”

The police said the students were caught in simultaneous raids while in the middle of practice in halls in Pune, Nagpur and the terrace of a bar near Vagator beach at Goa. The police said the 18 people arrested, who are the main accused, were paid Rs4-5 lakh for each leaked paper.

Deputy commissioner of police - Thane, Parag Manere said,”We conducted raids in Thane, Pune, Nagpur and Goa late on Saturday night. We found several students writing answers to the leaked exam paper.” Sources in the Goa police said they were not informed about the search operations, but senior policemen were told after the raid was conducted. “We were not part of the operation, as the action was taken by the Thane crime branch only. But senior officers in Goa was told about the raid the operation,’ said a senior police officer.

Joint commissioner of police from Thane, Ashitosh Dumbare said, “One of the accused among the 18 is a suspected to be a history sheeter.”

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