DEHRADUN: A major controversy has erupted over the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) examination held on 21 September, following allegations that three pages of the question paper were illicitly removed from an exam centre. Despite public outrage, the state government has firmly denied that the incident constitutes a "paper leak".
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami clarified the government's stance, stating that a true paper leak would have occurred only if the question paper, which was officially distributed at 11:00 AM, had surfaced beforehand, such as at 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM, or even 10:45 AM. "But nothing of that sort happened," he told reporters, insisting the incident should be categorised as an act of cheating rather than a systemic breach.
Dhami also raised concerns about the timing of the report. "If someone had received some questions, it was their responsibility to inform the police and administration at the appropriate time. Instead, the matter was concealed for several hours," he said, suggesting there may be a deliberate attempt to "defame the entire system" through social media.
"I will not call it a paper leak. You can call it a cheating incident. We have made a law for such incidents. It’s not that there will be no criminals after the law is made, but they will be punished under it. Strict action will be taken in this matter too," the Chief Minister asserted.
The alleged breach occurred at Adarsh Bal Sadan Inter College, Bahadurpur Jatt, Haridwar, one of the examination centres. Investigations revealed that three out of the 18 examination rooms (specifically Rooms 9, 17, and 18) lacked signal jammers, raising concerns over security protocols.
According to police, Khalid, an examinee and the prime accused, allegedly left the exam room for the washroom 30 minutes into the test, took the question paper with him, photographed three pages, and sent the images to his sister, Sabia. She, in turn, forwarded them to Assistant Professor Suman, who provided the answers.
Instead of alerting authorities, Professor Suman allegedly informed Bobby Panwar, president of the Uttarakhand Swabhiman Morcha, who then circulated the content on social media, fuelling widespread public anger across the state.
The police investigation intensified soon after. Professor Suman was interrogated, leading to Sabia’s arrest. Sabia's confession implicated her brother Khalid, who initially absconded but was later arrested. However, Khalid's mobile phone, believed to hold crucial evidence, remains missing.
Both Khalid and Sabia are now in custody. The Higher Education Department has suspended Assistant Professor Suman pending further investigation. In addition, K.N. Tiwari, Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency, has also been suspended.
In Haridwar, SSP Pramendra Dobal suspended two police personnel, Sub-Inspector Rohit Kumar and Constable Brahmadutt Joshi, for negligence during their duty at the examination centre.