Jharkhand excise exam paper leak racket busted, 159 candidates arrested
What's the story
In a major bust, Ranchi police have detained 159 candidates linked to the Jharkhand excise constable recruitment examination. The detentions were made after a raid at an under-construction house in Rargaon under the Tamar police station area, PTI reported. The operation was carried out based on a confidential tip-off that these candidates were being trained to memorize probable examination questions.
Evidence found
Question papers, answer keys recovered
During the raid, officials recovered four sets of question papers along with their answer keys. Preliminary scrutiny revealed that some of these questions were similar to those in the actual examination paper. Out of 120 questions, one Khortha language question was confirmed leaked, and another was partially matched. However, officials have clarified that there is no conclusive evidence yet to confirm a complete paper leak.
Investigation progress
Mastermind identified as Atul Vats
The alleged mastermind behind this racket has been identified as Atul Vats, who is believed to be associated with a "solver gang." A resident of Jahanabad in Bihar, he has allegedly been involved in several paper leak cases, including the Rajasthan clerk recruitment exam, NEET exam, Bihar community health officers recruitment exam, and Uttar Pradesh review and assistant review officers preliminary exam, according to a statement issued by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission.
Debarment announcement
All detained candidates to be debarred
Reportedly, the gang had struck deals worth around ₹15 lakh with candidates and collected admit cards and other documents from them as part of their operation. In light of these developments, the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission chairman has announced that all 159 detained candidates will be debarred from future commission examinations. The police are now working to trace other members of this gang, and further action in the case is underway.