Bhubaneswar: Six people were arrested from different parts of Odisha Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of a teacher recruitment test, police said.
The special Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET)-2025 was scheduled to be held July 20. However, a handwritten question paper with answers went viral on social media a day before, they said.
It was found to be the actual copy of the question set prepared by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), DGP (CID-Crime Branch) Vinaytosh Mishra said.
The BSE immediately postponed the examination and requested the Crime Branch to investigate the case, he said.
“So far, we have arrested six persons, including the kingpin Jitan Moharana, who was working as a data entry operator at the office of the BSE,” he added.
Mishra said Moharana shared the question paper with different persons, including the other five arrested.
Bijay Kumar Mishra was arrested from Rayagada district, Sanatan Bisoi from Koraput, Ram jee Prasad Gupta from Cuttack, Ajay Kumar Sahoo from Ganjam and Jayant Kumar Rout from Balasore, he said.
Moharana first gave the handwritten question paper to Bijaya Mishra and Sanatana Bisoi, who are members of the Ex-Cadre Teachers’ Association, the officer said.
The two persons deposited Rs 2.40 lakh in the bank account of Moharana’s wife, he said.
“Bank accounts of the accused persons are being verified. The racket was operational in many districts and selling question papers for lakhs of rupees,” he said.
Investigation is underway to trace the links of the accused persons, he said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) cancelled the mains examination for the posts of revenue inspector, assistant revenue inspector, ICDS supervisor, and amin & statistical field surveyor under the Combined Recruitment Examination 2023.
According to a notice issued by the OSSSC on Wednesday, the mains examination was supposed to be held from August 1 to September 4.
The examination was cancelled in response to a legal challenge, following allegations of irregularities in the preliminary examination for the posts.
Further announcements regarding the examination will be made later, the OSSSC said.
PTI
