Delhi Police nabs 5, including 3 directors of exam agency, in ITBP recruitment paper-leak case

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested five people, including three directors of a Kolkata-based exam-conducting agency, in connection with the 2021 ITBP constable recruitment paper-leak case, an official said on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Amitav Roy (61), Jaydeep Goswami (58) and Subhendu Kumar Paul (51), all directors of the Indian Institute of Psychometry (IIP), along with Rohit Raj (38), a consultant, and Dharmender (38), a printer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vikram Singh said in a statement.

"The arrests were made following investigations into an FIR registered at the Lodhi Colony police station in 2021 under sections related to criminal breach of trust, cheating, criminal conspiracy and common intention," the DCP added.

According to the complaint filed by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Commandant Kushal Kumar, the IIP was awarded a contract through tenders to conduct the written test for the post of constable (tradesmen), police said in a statement.

The agency was responsible for preparing and printing question papers, designing and scanning OMR sheets, ensuring secure transport and maintaining confidentiality.

The exam was held on January 10, 2021, for 46,174 candidates at 81 centres in 13 cities. However, the question paper surfaced on WhatsApp even before the examination began. Compared to the original paper, it was found to be identical, the officer said.

"An internal ITBP inquiry confirmed the leak, following which the case was registered. During the investigation, police seized contracts, MoUs and other documents from the IIP and examined its employees. One employee disclosed that the directors were responsible for the breach and had outsourced parts of the examination process," he added.

Despite repeated notices, the directors failed to join the probe, police said. The three IIP directors were arrested from Kolkata on September 19 and produced before a local court in Sealdah, which granted their transit remand to Delhi.

"During interrogation, the directors disclosed the involvement of a consultant and a printer in the racket. Acting on this, police arrested Rohit Raj, a consultant with the IIP, and Dharmender, who worked as a printer, from Delhi in the intervening night of September 24 and 25," the DCP said.

Police said all five accused initially attempted to mislead the investigators and did not cooperate. Further probe is underway to identify others involved in the leak and trace the extent of the racket. PTI SSJ RC