CBI files closure report in UGC-NET paper leak case

New Delhi: The CBI has filed a closure report in the case pertaining to the 2024 UGC-NET, which was cancelled following inputs suggesting that its question paper was leaked on the darknet and was being sold on Telegram, officials said on Thursday.

In its closure report filed before a special court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said there was no evidence of paper leak in the case. The agency also sent a report to the Union education ministry.

The court will now decide whether to accept the report and close the case or direct the agency to further probe it.

The central probe agency found that a "doctored" screenshot of the "leaked" question paper for the June 18, 2024, exam was being circulated by a student to make some money, the officials said.

On the exam day, the paper was found doing the rounds on Telegram channels in the afternoon, before the second shift of UGC-NET, giving an impression that it was leaked and the person circulating it had access to it, they said.

The investigation found that the person who circulated the screenshot had doctored the image and its date and time stamp to show that he accessed the paper before the exam started, the officials said.

More than 11 lakh candidates had registered for the exam which determines eligibility for junior research fellowship, appointment as assistant professors and PhD admissions in Indian universities and colleges.

The examination was cancelled by the education ministry on June 19 following an alert from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

"The UGC received certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the examination. These inputs prima facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised," the Ministry of Education had said after the cancellation of the examination.

The investigation was handed over to the CBI, which found that the purported screenshot of the paper was created by a school student using an app.

The agency consulted forensic experts who said that the screenshot was doctored, according to the officials.