JAIPUR: A suspected paper leak in the REET (Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers). The Mains Exam paper to recruit 48,000 teachers in government schools rocked Rajasthan on Saturday. Despite the Rajasthan Government implementing an internet shutdown in 11 districts, the REET Mains Exam paper was allegedly leaked and the police arrested at least five people involved in the paper leak and around 29 people were taken into police custody.
Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board, RSMSSB began the REET 2023 Exam on February 25 and will end them on March 1. Investigations about the suspected paper leak are now underway.
According to the police, the cheating gang was caught in a marriage hall (banquet hall) writing answers to the REET paper in Jodhpur. According to initial reports, a group was caught while solving the paper in Jodhpur city. This group was sitting in a marriage hall solving the question paper just when the police caught them. The police busted the gang from the marriage garden, in which 19 boys and 10 girls were getting paper solved. Throughout the day the talk went on that there had been a paper leak. Five people were immediately taken into custody by the police and the whole matter along with the question papers recovered from them is being investigated.
However, later the Jodhpur Police and the Staff Selection Board Chairman himself denied that the REET paper had been leaked. It seems that a fake paper was leaked but the deal was struck like a real paper leak had happened. The Jodhpur police claimed that the questions found with the gang were not matching with the original exam.
According to the probe so far, a student named Praveen Vishnoi made a paper deal for Rs 40 lakhs. He was given an advance of Rs 10 lakh by 5 people including Suresh Jat, Mukesh Joshi resident of Sanchore and Rameshwar. These 5 people sold fake papers to the rest of the students for Rs 10 lakh each. The gang did not take any advance from anyone, but on passing, a full payment deal was struck. This gang was solving papers even before the commencement of the examination at the Marriage Garden on Banad Road.
While Praveen, a resident of Sanchore, who deals in fake papers, went away after giving the exam in the morning shift, and the Jodhpur police could not catch him. Later the police arrested five people including Suresh Jat, Mukesh Joshi resident Sanchore and Rameshwar. Arrested Mukesh Joshi runs coaching in Jodhpur district.
Amid fears of a REET paper leak, the board had issued a notice that internet services will remain shut in 11 districts of Rajasthan on February 25 and 26. In addition, on February 27, internet services will remain shut in Jaipur from 6 AM to 6 PM. The 11 districts of the state where the internet will remain closed for two days are Alwar, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Kota, Sriganganagar, Tonk, and Udaipur.