The prime suspect, Vinay Chaudhary, who was involved in the unapproved circulation of the UP Board 2024 question paper has been arrested by Agra Police. Vinay, allegedly disseminated the Uttar Pradesh board intermediate math and biology examination paper on social media. The police are investigating the matter and trying to find out the source of the leak. The math and biology question papers were said to be shared on whatsapp group after an hour post commencement of the second shift exam.
After being detained, the prime suspect Vinay Chaudhary was taken to Atar Singh Inter College where relevant evidence was gathered. As per the prime investigation, disclosure of leakage of intermediate mathematics and biology question papers has been done. It is confirmed that the leakage was a deliberate attempt and not any accident.
Agra West DCP Sonam Kumar said, “FIR has been lodged against four persons named by DIOS and an unidentified person”. It is noticeable that the news of the UP Board question paper 2024 leak came after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke about malpractices in education institutes.
Backdrop of the case
The exam centre administrator, Rajender Singh, has exploited his position by strategically posting his son, Vinay Chaudhary as a computer operator within the UP Board exam 2024 setup. Following these, the police have arrested both Rajender Singh and Gambhir Singh (additional centre administrator) as they both were responsible for overseeing the smooth conduct of board examinations at the center. Historically, Atar Singh College has been involved in cheating scandals and was excluded from the list of exam centers in last year’s UP Board exams. Despite this, the administration failed to implement sufficient measures of security.
Later a meeting at PMShri Government Inter College, Shahganj, with administrators from the unaided schools was held by Mukesh Chandra Agarwal, the Board Observer, in compliance with the official directives. During this meeting with the officials, Mukesh Agarwal cautioned against severe consequences that have to be faced with respect to manipulation of the UP Board exam process. He also added that legal actions, arrest, center disqualification , withdrawal of recognition may be levied on responsible persons along with potential NSA charges. Furthermore, a revised set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) has been circulated to center administrators to ensure that no such activity takes place in future.
Future Course of Action
Board Secretary Divyakant Shukla held a meeting where it was decided that officials would be working to stop recognising Atar Singh Inter College in Rojholi, Fatehpur Sikri. The college is currently facing the possibility of losing its official recognition. Shukla emphasised that any school that is caught in leaking exam papers/ malpractices in the future will lose its recognition on an immediate basis.
For the ongoing UP Board 2024 exams, the centre administrator will be Rajkumar Saraswat from Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Government Inter College and additional centre administrator will be Bhagwat Sharan from Bajaj National Inter College, Fatehpur Sikri. The arrest of the culprits not only signifies a significant breakthrough in the ongoing efforts to cure UP Board 2024 exam related fraud but also serves as a warning to those who may be involved in similar illicit activities in the future. Also, the educational authorities, along with law agencies, will work collectively to uncover the full extent of the paper leak and identify individuals who are involved in such practices.
The UP Board 2024 exam paper leak acts as a catalyst for positive change. It requires a re-evaluation of security protocols in academic assessments.
