Guwahati Sep 17: The police have arrested three individuals in connection with the alleged leak of used question papers from the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE) conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Assam (SEBA) on September 15.
They have been identified as Mangal Singh Basumatary – a photographer hired by SEBA, who admitted to photographing the used question paper after the examination ended at 1:30 pm; Manohar Narzary, an invigilator at the Upendra National Academy Examination Centre and Dwijen Boro, a candidate who allegedly received and possibly circulated the question paper.
Assam Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh stated that Basumatary has confessed to taking pictures of the used question paper and circulating them. Singh also suggested that this incident might be part of a larger “criminal conspiracy” aimed at undermining the credibility of the state’s recruitment process. Further investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the conspiracy and to identify any other individuals involved.
Thirty hours after the ADRE was conducted, a used question paper appeared on social media, raising concerns about the examination’s integrity. According to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for ADRE 2024, all used OMR answer sheets, unused answer sheets, attendance sheets, and reports (in form no. 4) were properly packed and sealed by each centre-in-charge.
This process was conducted under the supervision of the deployed magistrate and the materials were sent to the central strong rooms at the respective district commissioner (DC) offices immediately after the examination.
Other materials, including used and unused question booklets, were stored separately for later dispatch back to the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA). Despite these precautions, the surfacing of the used question paper has led to suspicions regarding the management and handling of examination materials, prompting concerns over the transparency and fairness of the ADRE process.
Despite precautions, including the suspension of mobile internet services from 10 am to 1:30 pm on September 15 to prevent the sharing or uploading of materials during the ADRE, concerns emerged when a used question paper, marked as No. 1035034, surfaced on social media. The document was time-stamped at 2:17 pm on September 15, hours after the exam had concluded.
“The used question paper which was uploaded on the social media was used at Upendra National Academy, Simen Chapori, Dhemaji district. Dhemaji Police has cracked the case, it has been revealed that the paper was photographed by one Mangal Singh Basumutary, one of the photographers engaged by SEBA at the centre. The photography was done after examination was over at 1.30 pm at the examination centre. He has been detained and has confessed the photography of the paper after the examination was over. His mobile devices have been seized for further investigation,” the DGP said.
“He also circulated the paper after clicking the pictures to a few individuals who are being identified for further action. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the criminal conspiracy behind this act to defame the examination process,” the DGP added.
