178 FIRs filed till date, Sacked cop among 5 held in 2 paper leak cases

DGP Prashant Kumar said that one name – Rajeev Nayan Mishra – has cropped up as a common link in both cases.

Police said Mishra was also previously booked in connection with the leak of the UP TET paper in 2021 and the test paper of contract staff nurse recruitment examination in Madhya Pradesh in 2023. He was arrested in both the cases.

On Friday, the STF arrested a dismissed police constable, Arun Kumar Singh, and his aide Saurabh Shukla – both of Pratapgarh – in the RO/ARO paper leak case. The arrests were made after the two were questioned in Lucknow. Saurabh Shulka works as the manager at a private school in Lucknow, STF officers said.

Till date, a total of five persons have been arrested in the two cases, said Deputy Superintendent of Police (STF) Lal Pratap Singh. Earlier, three persons were arrested in Kaushambi.

Police said that another person sent the question paper to Arun and Saurabh a day before the RO/ARO exam. The arrested persons allegedly circulated the paper to others in exchange for money. Arun’s name cropped up during questioning of the three persons arrested in Kaushambi. Police said that Saurabh gave the question paper to Arun and claimed that he got it from one Ajay Sharma who claimed to him he got the paper from Rajeev Nayan Mishra. The arrested persons disposed of their cellphones soon after finding out that the police are looking for them.

Meanwhile, the UP STF arrested Abhishek Kumar Shukla of Prayagraj, Shivam Giri of Mirzapur, and Rohit Kumar Pandey of Bhadohi, recovered three cellphones and a question paper from the second leg of the exam held on February 18, said a police officer.

These arrested persons were associated with a company responsible for transporting the exam papers, with the leak occurring from the company’s warehouse, said a police officer. Abhishek Shukla had previously worked for the firm while Shivam and Rohit are current employees. Their arrests shed light on the modus operandi of the paper leak and its source, added the police.

DGP Prashant Kumar said the investigation would also focus on finding out the extent of the leak by the mastermind of the racket.

A total of 178 FIRs related to the leak of the two question papers have been filed till date, leading to the arrest of 396 individuals, according to police sources.

The STF detained Dr Shubham Mandal, who hails from Bihar and is employed on a contractual basis at a primary health centre, said Additional Superintendent of Police (STF) Brijesh Kumar Singh.

Apart from Rajeev Nayan Mishra, the police are also looking for one Ravi Atri in the case.

Police said, Ravi Atri, who holds an MBBS degree, was earlier allegedly linked to the leak of the question paper of AIPMT contract staff nurse recruitment examination in Madhya Pradesh in 2015.

According to the police, during investigation it came to light that Ravi Atri directed Abhishek to inform him once the box containing the question paper arrived at the warehouse. Abhishek told this to Shivam about it. On February 1, Shivam informed Abhishek and told the box had arrived. When Abhishek convey this to Shivam then he asked him (Abhishek) to tell Shivam Giri to click photographs of the box and send to him. Between February 3 and 5, all accused met at a hotel in Ahmedabad. Ravi Atri then called Dr Shubham and asked to reach Ahmedabad. On the same night, Shubham arrived there by flight.

The next day, a few of the group members gained access to the warehouse, where Dr. Shubham skillfully opened the box while others captured images of the question paper using Rajeev’s cellphone. On February 7, Shivam again informed Abhishek and told another box with question papers had arrived. The gang again reached Ahemdabad, opened the box and clicked photograph of another set of question paper.

Police said that of the four question papers of the exam that was held in two legs on February 17 and 18, two question papers were leaked.