Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said that conspiracies are being hatched by “cheating mafia” in the state to defame the Uttarakhand government over its strict anti-cheating laws by organising paper leaks.
While addressing a state BJP workshop in Dehradun, the Chief Minister said that coaching centers and cheating mafias are colluding to launch a “cheating jihad” and create chaos in the state.
Dhami also stated that when he assumed office as Chief Minister on July 4, 2021, there were approximately 22,000 vacant positions in various departments, but due to the government’s efforts, more than 25,000 young people have secured government jobs.
Not a single case of cheating has been reported in any of these examinations, he claimed.
“In order to tackle cheating mafias in the state, the government has implemented the country’s strict anti-cheating laws. Since the implementation of this law in 2022, we have taken action against over a hundred cheating mafias, bringing them to justice. Yet, some people are not accepting this…Coaching mafias and cheating syndicates are attempting to disrupt exams and spread unrest in the state,” he said as quoted by news agency PTI.
Dhami further issued a stern warning to such people, saying that neither he nor his government will rest until the so-called “cheating jihadis” are completely crushed.
“I want to make it clear to all these cheating mafias and ‘nakal jhadi’ that our government will continue to take strict action, and we will not rest until all cheating mafias in the state are brought to justice,” he added.
Dhami’s remarks came in the backdrop of the alleged leak of three pages of a question paper in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) graduate-level examination held on September 21.
UKSSSC Paper Leak Row
After photos of three pages of the question paper for the graduate-level examination conducted by the Commission for various departments went viral on social media on Sunday, Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh stated that preliminary investigations have not found any organised gang involvement in the matter.
However, he acknowledged that someone from an examination center sent photos of some of the question paper questions.
He stated that the accused involved in this case have been identified and strong evidence has been obtained against them.
Later, the police on Tuesday arrested Khalid Malik, the main accused in the paper leak case.
Police said that Khalid, who appeared as a candidate in the exam, was arrested from the Laksar area of Haridwar. Earlier, the police had arrested another accused in the case, Khalid’s sister Sabia (35). Khalid had been absconding for three days.
Investigating officer and Rishikesh Superintendent of Police (SP) Jaya Baluni stated that evidence gathered during the investigation clearly showed that Khalid allegedly took a device to the examination centre at Adarsh Bal Sadan Inter College in Bahadurpur Jat village in the Pathri area of Haridwar, using which he photographed three pages of the question paper and sent them to his mobile phone, which was in Sabia’s possession.
Students Protest
Meanwhile, hundreds of students and members of Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh (Unemployed Association) held protests in the state capital on Monday. Demanding justice for those who spent months preparing for exams and ended up losing it to paper leak, students alleged that the anti-cheating law remain no deterrent for the cheating mafias in the State.
This story was originally published in news18.com. Read the full story here.