India has recorded 65 instances of Paper leak in last five years
As per several Investigations, the paper leak is the work of a well-organized criminal racket
The NEET controversy has sparked nationwide outrage, but it is not the first time an exam paper has leaked. According to a recent report by India Today, 65 major examinations across 19 Indian states have been affected by question paper leaks since 2019. This data was analyzed by their Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team.
The data was gathered from public records, media reports and several other instances where exam paper leaks led to FIR registrations, arrests, or exam cancellations.
This major issue of paper leaks gained nationwide attention when NEET candidates from different states took to the streets to protest against the wrongdoing of the conducting organization. The National Testing Agency (NTA) was questioned by the entire nation regarding the integrity of the examination. Suspicion arose when 64 candidates achieved perfect scores, something that had never happened in the history of the exam.
Other than the recent NEET-UG paper leak, four other national-level examinations were affected by paper leaks. These were the Indian Army’s Common Entrance Examination for recruiting soldiers in 2021, the Central Teachers’ Eligibility Test (CTET) 2023, NEET-UG 2021, and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains 2021.
As per the State-wise data, UP tops the list of the states with the most paper leaks with 8 affected examinations, followed by Rajasthan & Maharashtra, which are jointly affected by 7 paper leaks. Bihar is in the third rank with 6 paper leaks, followed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, who hold the fourth rank with 4 leaks each. Other than these states, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, and West Bengal, witnessed three instances each of paper leaks since January 1, 2019.
According to the data, out of all the leaked examinations, 45 were for recruitment in various government departments, and 27 of these were either cancelled or postponed. Around 17 of the non-recruitment exams were linked to state boards and universities.
Business of Students’ Dreams
As per several Investigations, the paper leak is the work of a well-organized criminal racket. A multi-state gang is involved in what can be referred, to as a heist of the student’s fortune. These Paper mafia are involved in selling the leaked question papers to aspirants in exchange for a large sum.
India Today conducted a recent sting operation revealing the accused and their “modus operandi”. Bijendra Gupta, who is allegedly involved in multiple paper leaks, revealed details about the paper leak industry. He explained how question paper boxes are tampered with during transportation and how blacklisted companies manage to secure tenders.
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