SBI official evades arrest in paper leak case

PATNA: Deputy manager of the Jamui SBI main branch, Amit Kumar, was evading arrest in connection with the leak of social science question paper of the ongoing matriculation examination being conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB). The paper went viral on social media on Friday after which the BSEB cancelled it across the state late Friday night.

Jamui Sadar SDPO Rakesh Kumar on Saturday said raids were on to nab Amit. He said two more SBI employees — cashier Shashikant Chaudhary and accountant Ajeet Kumar — along with a private person Vikas Kumar were sent to jail for leaking the paper.

“It was actually Vikas who leaked the paper. His suspicious movements were captured in the CCTV camera inside the bank. Bank employees were actually negligent in keep question papers,” he said.

Kumar said Vikas, a resident of Jamui, is an employee of a firm named Vandana Solutions and he worked for the bank as an outsourced workforce.

“Vikas’s niece is appearing in the matriculation examination. He had leaked the question to her through WhatsApp,” Kumar said.

The SDPO said police have seized the cellphones of Shashikant, Ajeet, Vikas and the girl. “Prima facie it is evident from Vikas’s cellphone that he had clicked the question’s picture and his niece had received it,” he said.

He said the question was leaked almost at hour before the first shift examination. “Investigation is going on whether the question was forwarded to any other person after clicking its photograph,” he said.

Kumar said no immediate action has been taken against the minor. “A decision about her would be taken later on,” he said.

Jamui district education officer Ravi Kumar Singh had lodged an FIR with Town police station against Shashikant, Ajeet, Amit and Vikas. In the FIR, he alleged that the question paper was leaked and made viral after opening a packet of one of the two sacks kept as reserve at the SBI main branch in Jamui.

Singh alleged that the three bank employees responsible for secure handling of question papers had left everything in the hands of Vikas.