CUTTACK: The Crime Branch has reportedly gathered crucial information and evidence in the special Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) question paper leak case after interrogating two prime accused, BSE data entry operator Jitan Moharana and Bijaya Mishra, working president of the state ex-cadre teachers’ association.
The duo, arrested earlier in connection with the case, were taken on a two-day remand on Monday and questioned by a special team of officers. During interrogation, both confessed to their role in the leak, sources said.
Moharana reportedly said in his statement that he obtained the question papers from the laptop of the BSE vice-president using a pen drive well before the examination. He printed hard copies from a printer, placed the pen drive and the papers in an envelope, and drove to Nayagarh in his own car, hiring a driver for Rs 1,500.
In Nayagarh, Moharana handed the envelope to Mishra’s brother. Subsequently, Mishra transferred Rs 2.5 lakh to Moharana’s bank account via UPI. The leaked papers were later sent to Ambodala in Rayagada, where accused Prasant Kumar Khamari, a teacher at government upper primary school at Bhejipadar in Bhawanipatna, translated them using Google Translate and rewrote them by hand to disguise the leak, Crime Branch sources said.
Based on the accused’s statements, the CB has also been questioning Mishra’s brother, the car driver, and a woman data entry operator from the BSE vice-president’s office to determine when Moharana accessed the laptop and why the activity went unnoticed.
So far, eight people, including BSE vice-president Nihar Ranjan Mohanty, have been arrested in the case. Officials suspect a larger syndicate operating across several districts, possibly involving more board officials.
Following the end of their remand, Moharana and Mishra were produced before the JMFC-3 court on Wednesday afternoon.