​UP RO/ARO exam paper leak: Medical store worker paid Rs 1 lakh for leaked paper, confesses after arrest

LUCKNOW: A year after the sensational leak of the UPPSC Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO) Preliminary Examination 2023 paper, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested a key accused on Friday. The accused confessed to paying Rs 1 lakh in hopes of securing a govt job.The accused, Kumar Abhinandan, a medical store worker from Lucknow, admitted during interrogation that he was lured into the racket by a doctor who promised him leaked papers for Rs 15 lakh.The RO/ARO Prelims, held on February 11, 2024, was cancelled after its question paper surfaced on social media hours before the exam. STF teams were tasked with investigating the leak, and Abhinandan, who was on the run since then, was finally caught near Manocha Bakery under Thakurganj police station limits on May 29.According to his confession, Abhinandan was helping run his father’s medical store in Mal and operated a pharmaceutical distribution firm named Alaya Distributors in Vibhutikhand. During business interactions, he befriended Dr. Sharad Kumar Singh, a PGI-based medical professional, who claimed connections with a network capable of leaking competitive exam papers, said Additional SP, STF, Lal Pratap Singh.“Sharad told me he could get me a leaked copy of the RO/ARO paper if I arranged Rs 15 lakh. He assured me that if the plan failed, my money would be returned,” Abhinandan told STF. Tempted by the offer, he paid Rs 1 lakh in cash and handed over sensitive personal documents, including his academic mark sheets and a blank cheque as ‘security’.Abhinandan further revealed that he was instructed to travel to Bhopal on February 9, 2024. There, at Hotel Kamal Palace, he met co-accused Subhash Prakash and Vivek Upadhyay, who, along with several other aspirants, were given the leaked question paper and its solved answers. “On exam day, the same questions appeared. I knew then the leak was real,” he admitted.But when news broke that Subhash and Vivek were arrested by STF, Abhinandan panicked. “I deleted everything from my phone and went into hiding,” he confessed. His arrest adds to a growing list of accused in the scam, including Sharad, Subhash, Vivek, and several others now behind bars.Abhinandan was booked under multiple sections of the IPC, the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, and the IT Act. The case is registered under FIR No. 74/2024 at Civil Lines Police Station, Prayagraj.According to STF officials, the investigation is ongoing, and more arrests may follow as the network behind the paper leak is further exposed.