Bihar SSC chairman held in question paper leak case

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) question paper leak case, arrested chairman of the BSSC, Sudhir Kumar, from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand in the early hours of Friday.

The SIT also arrested four of his relatives suspected to be involved in the case.SIT chief Manu Maharaj said, “We have arrested senior IAS officer Sudhir Kumar. Some more people, including his relatives, have been arrested.”

The IAS Officers’ Association in Bihar is, however, up in arms over the arrest of Kumar.
“I have known Sudhir Kumar for the last 30 years. His integrity can’t be questioned,” said an office-bearer of the IAS officers body.

The BSSC had conducted the examinations for appointment of clerks in the Bihar government. The first phase of examination was held on January 29, while the second round was conducted on February 5.

Over 4.5 lakh examinees appeared for the recruitment test at 750 centres in 38 districts of the state. Shortly before the examination on February 5, there were reports that the question papers had been leaked and had gone viral on messenger app WhatsApp.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on February 6 constituted the SIT to probe the case.
After it was found prima facie that the question papers were indeed leaked, the chief minister ordered cancellation of the February 8 exam. BSSC secretary Parmeshar Ram and other suspects, including the director of a school Ramashish Singh, were arrested.

During the raids, the SIT recovered Android mobile phones, incriminating documents and over 40 bank passbooks after apprehending several people in the case.