Haryana has become hub of 'paper leak mafia': Randeep Surjewala

He said said the high unemployment rate and recruitment exams getting cancelled due to paper leaks are pushing the future of the state’s youth into darkness

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday alleged that Haryana had become a hub of the "paper leak mafia" under the present BJP-led dispensation as the criminals have no fear of the law.

Referring to the alleged manipulation of the 2021 JEE (Mains) examination by a private institute, a case in which CBI has arrested seven people, the Congress leader said remote access from a chosen examination centre in Sonipat was used by the accused.

“What is the reason that paper leak mafia, active in different parts of the country, find Haryana a safe haven. Why is there a Haryana connection to every big paper leak?” he said in a statement.

“Paper mafia is flourishing under the BJP-JJP rule as it has failed to control the repeated leaks and frauds,” he claimed.

The former Haryana minister further said the high unemployment rate and recruitment exams getting cancelled due to paper leaks are pushing the future of the state’s youth into darkness.

The CBI had on Thursday carried out searches at 19 locations in connection with the alleged manipulation of the 2021 JEE (Mains) examination by a private institute, and its directors.

After registering the case on Wednesday, the agency waited for the examination to get over on Thursday before launching the searches.

The prestigious JEE (Mains) examination is a stepping stone for admissions into IITs and NITs.

"The searches led to the recovery of 25 laptops, seven PCs, around 30 post-dated cheques along with voluminous incriminating documents/devices, including PDC's marksheet of different students," CBI Spokesperson R C Joshi had earlier said.

It is alleged that the directors in conspiracy with other associates and touts were "manipulating the online examination of JEE (Mains) and facilitating aspiring students to get admission in top NITs in consideration of huge amount by solving the question paper of the applicant through remote access from a chosen examination centre in Sonipat (Haryana)", Joshi had said.

It was also alleged that the accused used to obtain as security aspiring students' marksheets of classes 10 and 12, user IDs, passwords, and post-dated cheques, and once the admission was done, they used to collect heavy amounts ranging from Rs 12-15 lakh per candidate across the country.

Last month, Surjewala had demanded a high-court monitored CBI probe into alleged leak of question papers for male police constable recruitment in Haryana as the opposition had stepped up attack on the BJP-led government in the state over the issue.

Amid reports of a paper leak, the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) had cancelled the written examination for the recruitment of male police constables.

After the exam was cancelled, Surjewala had attacked the state government over the issue, saying it was the 28th paper which got leaked.