The Odisha Higher Education Department has suspended Prasant Kumar Khamari, headmaster of the Government Upper Primary School in Bhejipadar, Bhawanipatna, for his alleged role in the leak of the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) question paper.
On July 31, Khamari was taken into custody after preliminary investigations revealed his involvement in the dissemination of confidential examination materials. Acting swiftly, the Education Department suspended him from his duties pending further inquiry.
He was apprehended on July 31 for his alleged involvement in orchestrating the leak of handwritten question papers that surfaced across social media platforms ahead of the scheduled examination on July 20.
Khamari is accused of conspiring with several individuals, including Bijay Kumar Mishra, the Ex-Cadre Working President of the State Ex-Cadre Teacher Association, and Sanatan Bisoi, the President of the Ex-Cadre Teachers Association in Koraput district. Additionally, a data entry operator, Jitan Moharana, who works for the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) in Odisha, is also implicated in the case.
It is reported that Khamari acquired a computerised version of the question paper from Moharana and transcribed it in his own handwriting to give it a semblance of authenticity. He allegedly targeted vulnerable teachers who had previously failed the Special OTET exam, selling them the leaked paper to profit illicitly.
Preliminary analysis indicates a transaction of Rs 99,000 made via PhonePe to co-accused Bijay Kumar Mishra, which was collected in cash from unsuspecting teachers. Khamari’s financial accounts are currently under scrutiny.
Furthermore, officials from the Crime Branch have seized the accused’s mobile phone, and handwriting samples have been collected in the presence of witnesses; these samples will be sent for examination to both the Handwriting Bureau and the Cyber Forensic Lab.
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