The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has apprehended the primary suspect, Rajiv Nayan Mishra, in connection with the Uttar Pradesh Police constable recruitment exam paper leak case, authorities said Saturday.
Mishra, who has a history of involvement in paper leaks and has previously served jail time in similar cases, was arrested after several days of raids conducted by both the UP Police and STF, according to officials.
On February 18, UP police had already arrested or detained 244 individuals from across the state for allegedly planning to engage in unfair practices during the exam. Subsequently, in March, the UP STF nabbed seven more individuals from Meerut and Delhi for their alleged involvement in the paper leak case. Officials stated that the accused were purportedly part of a gang involved in the leak.
As per officials, Deepak, Bittu, Praveen, Rohit, Naveen, and Sahil, all residents of Meerut were arrested from a house in Kanker Kheda Police station. A Gautam Buddha Nagar resident Pramod Pathak was also arrested.
The recruitment exam, which saw over 48 lakh aspirants including nearly 16 lakh women candidates, took place on February 17 and 18 across 2,385 centers in four shifts throughout all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The state government aims to fill 60,244 positions in the police force through this drive.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government announced the cancellation of the exam, instructing for a re-examination within six months. "There can be no compromise with the sanctity of examinations. Those who play with the hard work of the youth will not be spared under any circumstances. Strictest action is certain to be taken against such unruly elements," CM Adityanath stated in a post on X.
The cancellation came after protests by hundreds of candidates who demanded a re-examination, citing the compromised integrity of the exam after a question paper circulated on social media hours before the test commenced.
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