In a major development in the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) question paper leak case, the Crime Branch has arrested the Vice-President of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Nihar Ranjan Mohanty. His arrest followed multiple rounds of intense interrogation over the past few days.
With Mohanty’s arrest, the total number of people held in connection with the leak has now risen to eight. The Crime Branch had earlier arrested seven others, including key Board officials and staff.
Irregularities in Exam Management Exposed
The investigation has revealed glaring procedural violations in the way the OTET examination process was being handled. According to sources, the leaked question paper originated from Mohanty’s personal laptop — a serious breach of protocol, as question papers are never supposed to reach the Vice-President’s system.
As per standard procedure, the printing agency is required to send the encrypted question paper only via a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) after the examination, and not before. Instead, the Crime Branch found that the OTET question paper was emailed directly from the printing press to Mohanty’s laptop — bypassing the prescribed security channels.
Board regulations (Chapter 11, Clause 15) clearly state that preparation, confidential printing, and distribution of question papers fall strictly under the responsibility of the Board Secretary. However, three years ago — following a previous question paper leak — this responsibility was reportedly shifted from the Secretary to the Vice-President, raising concerns among education officials.
Conflict of Interest and Favouritism Alleged
The investigation has also uncovered alleged irregularities in the selection of question setters. Names such as a close relative of Mohanty and the wife of an academic officer were reportedly included in the question setter panel, despite this being a clear violation of Board norms.
Further, Board staffer Jitan Maharana was allegedly engaged in highly confidential exam-related work under Mohanty’s direction — an action investigators believe was part of the leak conspiracy.
Procedural Breach Under Scrutiny
The Crime Branch is probing why and under whose instructions the soft copy of the question paper was sent to Mohanty’s email before the examination. Normally, handwritten question papers from approved panel setters are sent confidentially to the printing press. The press then sends three proof-corrected hard copies to the Board for review before final printing. The appearance of the paper on Mohanty’s personal system before the exam is now a key focus of the probe.
Mohanty had been interrogated four times by a special Crime Branch team before being taken into custody. Investigators say more arrests are likely as they continue to unravel what appears to be a deep-rooted nexus of malpractice in the state’s examination system.
