Key member of paper leak gang held in Patna

Patna: In a major crackdown on organised paper-leak gangs, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police arrested Sanjay Kumar Prabhat, a key member of the infamous “solver gang” led by Sanjeev Mukhiya. The accused was arrested from the Gola Road area of Patna late Monday night and produced before the court on Tuesday, from where he was sent to judicial custody.The arrest is part of an intensive pre-examination intelligence and raid drive launched by the EOU to ensure the fair conduct of two major upcoming recruitment examinations – the Driver Constable Recruitment Examination by the Central Selection Board (Constable Recruitment) scheduled for Dec 10, and the Enforcement Sub-Inspector Examination of the Transport Department by the Bihar Police Subordinate Services Commission scheduled for Dec 14.Manavjit Singh Dhillon, DIG of EOU, said Sanjay, a resident of Sheikhopur Bazar in Sheikhpura district, was already a wanted absconder in an EOU case registered for the leakage of question papers of the BPSC Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 3.0 conducted on Mar 15, 2024. “He is known to be an active member of the gang headed by the infamous Sanjeev Mukhiya,” he said.“The accused carries a long criminal history in paper-leak rackets across the country. He remains an accused in the 2016 TS EAMCET paper-leak case investigated by CID Hyderabad and the 2016 All India Pre-Medical Test leak case registered at Ramnagar police station in Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand,” the DIG added.During interrogation, Sanjay reportedly confessed to earning huge sums through examination malpractices. In the BPSC TRE-3.0 case alone, he admitted to collecting around Rs 1 lakh as commission from each candidate supplied with the leaked question paper.Police recovered multiple admit cards and documents belonging to several candidates preparing for upcoming examinations, whom he had assured of “arranging” question papers. The EOU is verifying financial transactions and other leads from his questioning.Dhillon told this newspaper that many candidates appearing in state-level and central-level exams were in contact with him and sent their admit cards to his phone. “He was discussing a commission of around Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh with each of them, saying that he will arrange the question papers. He created two WhatsApp groups, including one with 72 members, and even a Telegram group. We are verifying all the documents and other details from his phone, and action will be taken against them as well,” he said.With this arrest, the total number of accused in the BPSC TRE-3.0 paper-leak case has risen to 289. Raids continue across Bihar and other states to apprehend the remaining gang members. Officials urged students and parents to immediately report any approach by solver gangs or offers of leaked papers, assuring complete confidentiality and prompt action.