BJP leader surrenders in Assam police recruitment scam, arrested and expelled from party
Guwahati: Diban Deka, BJP leader and one of the prime accused in Assam police recruitment scam who surrendered to the police at Barpeta, has been taken into custody and expelled from the party on Thursday.
Deka was taken into custody soon after his surrender at Pathacharkuchi in Barpeta district late on Wednesday night, police said.
He had been absconding since the scam came to light. He was brought here for interrogation, the officer said.
Deka was produced at the court of Kamrup chief judicial magistrate and remanded to the custody of Guwahati City Police crime branch for five days.
A BJP spokesman said the state unit of the party expelled Deka with immediate effect after his arrest.
Deka had identified himself on Facebook as the national executive member of BJP's Kisan Morcha and had contested Assam assembly poll as a BJP candidate in 2011 and was also expecting to contest the 2021 polls.
With his arrest the total number of people apprehended in connection with the question paper leak for the police sub-inspector recruitment examination in the state has gone upto 25.
Deka was absconding along with retired DIG P K Dutta and the police had issued look out notices and announced cash award of Rs one lakh to anyone whose information would lead to the arrest of Deka and Dutta.
The ex-DIG is yet to be traced and it is suspected that he is currently somewhere along the Indo-Nepal border.
Deka was questioned by the CID after the question paper leak came to light but was allowed to go as there was "no circumstantial evidence against him". Following this he absconded after a post on Facebook in which he claimed that his life was in danger.
Deka had posted on September 24 that he was involved in the examination process and has "left Assam" as he "might be killed anytime because many big and corrupt officials are involved in the scam".
The question paper of the written examination for 597 posts of unarmed sub-inspectors in Assam Police was leaked before the beginning of the examination on September 20 and the State Level Police Recruitment Board (SLPRB) cancelled the test minutes after it had commenced across the state
The SLPRB Chairman Pradeep Kumar subsequently resigned on September 27 taking "moral responsibility" for the question paper leak.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
