Two more held in Gujarat exam question paper leak case; Rs 23 lakh seized

Police arrested two more persons in connection with the alleged Gujarat government exam question paper leak scam from Sabarkantha district and seized Rs 23 lakh from the house of one of them, an official said on Saturday.

With the latest arrest made on Friday, the number of people arrested so far has risen to 16, he said.

"Two accused were arrested for their alleged role in helping candidates solve the question paper for the exam held on last Sunday," Superintendent of Police Neeraj Badgujar said.

The written exam for the recruitment of 186 head clerks was conducted by the Gujarat Subordinate Service Selection Board (GSSSB) across the state for which 88,000 aspirants had appeared.

"On Friday, we arrested two more accused. During their interrogation, one of them admitted to having collected money from candidates (to provide them with the question paper). Police seized Rs 23 lakh from his house in Himmatnagar. He had collected the money from candidates. Further investigation is underway," the SP said.

A total of ten persons were named in the FIR lodged at the Prantij police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) about cheating and criminal breach of trust and conspiracy. Six of those named in the FIR were already arrested.

Sabarkantha Police have fanned out teams to trace other persons named in the FIR.

As per the FIR, the accused had managed to obtain the question paper before the exam was conducted and sold it to select candidates for around Rs 15 lakh.

They also helped at least 16 candidates in solving this question paper at three different locations a day before the exam was conducted. Arrangements were also made to drop these candidates to their respective exam centres, it stated.