Hazaribagh (Jharkhand): Over 250 candidates were detained in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district in connection with an alleged paper leak of Bihar Public Service Commission's (BPSC) TRE-3 exam on Friday. Prior to which, five suspects were arrested on charges of supplying question papers to the candidates.
Two days back, these candidates were brought to Hazaribagh, where they were supplied the question papers for BPSC TRE-3 exam and accommodated in a banquet hall in Pelawal. On the day of the examination, candidates left Pelawal at around 3 am for being taken to their respective exam centres.
Acting on a tip-off, police launched an operation and detained 90 candidates from Barhi, 70 from Pelaval, 80 from Padma, 15 from Korra and 15 from Katkamsandi. Also, five suspects, who allegedly masterminded the paper leak, have been arrested. Question papers, computers, laptops, printers and pen drives have been recovered from them.
According to an official of Economic Offences Unit, around Rs 8 to 15 lakh was charged from each candidate of which, Rs 2 to 3 lakh was taken as advance. The candidates had to submit their certificates till the entire amount was paid. It is being suspected that transactions worth Rs 50 crore were involved in the paper leak case.
The official said they got information about the paper leak in Hazaribagh on Thursday and arrests were made accordingly. Officials came to know that candidates were gathered in many areas and a second team came to Hazaribagh following which an operation was conducted on Friday. Officials feel there were over 500 candidates and more than half of them managed to escape taking advantage of the darkness.
"The Economic Offences Unit with the help of Hazaribagh Police managed to detain 250 candidates from Hazaribagh Nagwan Toll Plaza, Nagwan Toll Plaza and a hotel," an official said.
After being detained, the candidates were taken to Patna for interrogation and verification of their credentials. Action will be taken against any candidate found involved in this, officials said adding that raids are underway in Patna and its surrounding areas.
Investigations revealed that the train which the candidates were supposed to board for reaching their exam centres was late so a bus operator was approached to take them to Biharsharif, Nawada and Begusarai by road. An average advance of Rs 10,000 was also given to the bus operator which left with the candidates at 3.30 am.
Meanwhile, the police contacted the operator and asked him to halt all vehicles at the nearest police stations. The bus operator stopped one vehicle at Katkamsandi, the second at Padma and third at Korra police station. On the other hand, police intercepted the candidates at the banquet hall, where they had gathered.
At around 12 at night, candidates were taken to Patna under tight security. During the operation, a vehicle of a senior official of Bihar has also been seized. It has been found that the vehicle was a rented car and is also being taken to Patna.
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