Uttarakhand Police Nab UKSSSC Paper Leak Mastermind From Haridwar

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand police on Tuesday arrested Khalid Malik, the mastermind in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) paper leak case, from Haridwar, and significant information was obtained from his mobile phone.

Currently, the SSPs of Haridwar and Dehradun are interrogating Khalid in an undisclosed location, and the process to transfer him to Dehradun has been initiated.

On September 20, the Special Task Force (STF) arrested Hakam Singh, who was previously implicated in paper leak cases, for planning to leak the question paper for the examination on September 21. As per the investigating agency officials, information was received that Singh was planning to contact unemployed youth to make them sit for the exam for lakhs of rupees.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday said "cheating mafia" conspiring to defame the Uttarakhand government will not be spared under any circumstances. At an event in Dehradun, he said people upset with the government's strict anti-cheating laws are trying to defame the government.

Dhami said the alleged leak of three pages of a question paper in the UKSSSC graduate-level examination was a conspiracy to defame the state government. "A similar attempt was made on Sunday as well, even though this is not a case of paper leak," he said. The CM said that some cheating mafia and coaching mafia are conspiring to defame the government, which will be exposed soon, and the culprits will not be spared under any circumstances.

Echoing Dhami, former Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said those who endanger the future of hardworking and studious students in jeopardy by leaking question papers won't be spared. "Today, children work hard day and night to prepare for exams. But when the time for results comes, their future is jeopardised by such middlemen. Our government has caught many such people, and anyone found guilty will not be spared at any cost," he said.

Rawat said the government is dealing with such elements strictly on priority, and those involved in malpractices will be penalised irrespective of their political allegiance.

Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli on Monday assured that the government will take the "strictest possible action" against those involved in the alleged paper irregularities case, stressing that the move will serve as a deterrent. "The government will take the strictest possible action against those who are involved in the illegal activities in this case. This is the first case after a law on cheating was introduced. The action taken by the government will set an example," he added.

Director General of Police (DGP) Deepam Seth said that multiple police teams have been deployed to probe the UKSSSC paper irregularities case and assured that strict action will follow against those found guilty. "Five police teams have been deployed to investigate the case, and the police have recovered substantial evidence in this matter. The investigation will be concluded soon, and strict action will be taken against those involved," he added.

Khalid Malik after his arrest. (ETV Bharat)

On Sunday, UKSSSC chairman Ganesh Singh Martolia said it appeared to be "an attempt to help a particular person". Martolia said, "This is an attempt to help a particular person. The question is, how did the person (who took the photos of the questions) reach there (at the centre) when there was a jammer? This is an important aspect that we are working on. We are trying to catch the main accused. After that, everything will become clear. Strict action will be taken against anyone involved in this."

SSP Ajay Singh had clarified that no organised gang has been found so far. "There were rumours that a paper had been leaked and that an organised gang was behind it. The investigation we have done so far has not revealed any organised gang that could prove this. At one centre, someone had sent screenshots of some questions. We have detained 2-3 people and interrogated them. Someone had done this in a planned manner," he added.

Calling the paper leak case a fallacy, Congress said the BJP is clearly stating that the paper leak mafia was active in the state even before the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government came to power. This means that this is a direct accusation against Trivendra Rawat, who headed the previous BJP government.

Meanwhile, the youth protested against the government by raising slogans such as "Paper Chor Gaddi Chhod" (let the paper thief the seat). The unemployed youth had planned to march to the secretariat on Wednesday, but union leaders later urged them to stage a peaceful protest on the road near the Parade Ground.

Bobby Panwar, former state president of the Uttarakhand Unemployed Association, said that the way the administration has tried to intimidate the youth by invoking Section 163 of BNSS is tantamount to strangling democracy and attempting to suppress the issues of the youth.

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