A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe has been initiated in the Bihar paper leak scam. It is being carried out by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in connection with the Bihar exam question paper leak on May 8. The exam was conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and investigations on the officials are ongoing. On May 8, when the exam did not start at the scheduled time of 12 noon and question papers were not distributed till 12:15 pm, the candidates were agitated and took the help of the local media to expose the misconduct of the college officials.
Already four arrests have been made in Arrah in Bhojpur district, Bihar, in connection with the case. The phones of the suspected officials are also being scanned. And more than 100 BPSC officials and employees of examination centres have also come under the SIT scanner. "The arrest of four officials from Arrah was one part of an investigation where Barahra BDO-cum-static officer, Jaywardhan Gupta, and three officials of Kunwar Singh College, Arrah, were directly involved. Besides, SIT is also suspecting the nexus of BPSC officials and education mafias in the paper leak," an investigating officer said, in an IANS report.
It has been informed by the officer that the Kunwar Singh College had been banned earlier in 2017 due to reported malpractices in the BA Part-II exams. It had then lost its affiliation to the Veer Kunwar Singh University of Arrah. However, the BPSC had allowed the exams to be conducted in this particular college.
In another development, BPSC has issued a show-cause notice to a Block Education Officer (BEO) for carrying a smartphone into the examination centre in Purnea district. A photograph of the officer went viral on social media, when he was seen taking a selfie inside the examination hall, IANS has noted. The officer has been identified as Ram Prabodh Yadav. He has been charged under the Bihar Examination Act, 1981.
