Odisha Crime Branch has arrested six individuals for their alleged role in the leakage of question papers for the Special OTET-2025 exam.
The arrests followed a complaint lodged by Smt. Bulbul Behera, Establishment Officer at the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha.
The exam, scheduled for July 20, was postponed after BSE officials discovered hand-written replicas of the question papers circulating on Facebook and other platforms late on July 19.
Those apprehended include:
- Jitan Moharana, a data entry operator at BSE Cuttack, accused of unlawfully accessing official devices to obtain and circulate the exam papers.
- Bijaya Kumar Mishra, Working President of the State Ex-Cadre Teachers Association.
- Sanatan Bisoi, President of the Koraput chapter of the same association.
- Brokers Ramjee Prasad Gupta, Ajay Kumar Sahu, and Jayanta Kumar Rout who allegedly distributed the papers for monetary gain.
Investigators revealed that the leaked papers were sold to desperate candidates seeking regularisation and pay hikes. Financial transactions involving hard cash and digital payments amounting to lakhs of rupees were traced during the probe.
Electronic evidence, including mobile phones and question paper copies, has been seized. All accused have been produced before the JMFC-III Court in Cuttack. Authorities continue to investigate possible links with other districts and additional members involved in the scam.
