UPSSSC postpones recruitment exam for tubewell operators after question paper leak; police arrests 11 people

The Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UPSSSC) postponed its exam for tubewell operators, scheduled for Sunday, after question papers were leaked on social media a day earlier, according to media reports. [caption id=“attachment_4682091” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] According to News18, the Lucknow District Magistrate announced the cancellation on Saturday evening and said that fresh dates for the exam will be announced soon. Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested 11 people in connection with the case, the report added. Among those arrested is a primary school teacher, who the police believes is the mastermind behind the paper leak. The UPSSSC chairman CB Paliwal has directed officials to take action against the agency responsible for printing the question paper. The Times of India quoted him as saying, “We will be taking action against the agency who was given the responsibility for printing the question paper. We have sought an explanation from them about the paper leak.” “The paper was cancelled with immediate effect last night after I received the question paper at 9 pm on WhatsApp and found it to be the same as the tubewell operator recruitment examination. Within an hour of cross-checking the leaked paper, the STF was informed by the commission,” the report further quoted him as saying. The tubewell operator recruitment exam was scheduled to be held across 364 centres for 3210 posts in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday and over 2.5 lakh candidates were to appear for the exam. After reports of paper leak started circulating, candidates started protesting outside exam centres across the state, reported India Today.