CBI files FIR in SSC paper leak, raids 12 locations
New Delhi, May 23: Three months after leak of a paper of recruitment examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the CBI registered an FIR and conducted raids on Wednesday at multiple locations across the country, an official said.
The agency raided 12 locations, including offices of Sify Technologies Ltd, which was entrusted with holding the Combined Graduate Level (Tier II) exam, in Noida. Raids were also conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Shimla, Jaipur and Patna.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said that "the decision was taken after investigators found enough material".
The agency registered a preliminary inquiry in March to probe the paper leak, based on references from the Central government.
The SSC, which conducts examinations for subordinate services, had recommended a CBI inquiry into the paper leak in the examination held from February 17 to 22, which triggered widespread protests.
The SSC later decided not to declare the results till the CBI completed its probe.
The CBI FIR named 17 private persons, including head of the content team of Sify Technologies Ltd, as well as some unidentified officials of the SSC for their role in the paper leak.
They were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The question paper was leaked 20 minutes before the examination.
"It was alleged that computers of some candidates were remotely accessed by unidentified persons with the help of a software which was not supposed to be installed in the PCs. These candidates were helped by these persons in answering the questions. The screenshots of some questions were leaked in the social media and went viral.
"The answer keys of the Quantitative Ability (QA) examination on February 21 were found in the social media at 10.10 a.m., even as the examination was scheduled to be held at 10.30 a.m. that day," the CBI said.
In March, Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force and Delhi Police Crime Branch busted a gang involved in the case and arrested four persons who helped candidates cheat with the help of online app "Team Viewer".
A large number of candidates had staged protests outside the SSC office at the CGO Complex here for several days seeking a CBI probe.
Nearly 30.26 lakh candidates had registered for the Combined Graduate Level Examination, conducted to fill about 8,000 vacancies in 35 ministries and departments.
While about 15.43 lakh candidates appeared in the Tier-I exam in August 2017, about 1.89 lakh candidates were shortlisted for the Tier-II exam. Of these, 1.41 lakh candidates appeared in the exam, conducted at 206 venues in 68 cities.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
