Raipur: A professor of a private agriculture college in Durg has been arrested along with five students for allegedly leaking the question paper of an entomology examination of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), with police claiming to have cracked the case within 36 hours.
The professor, identified as 38-year-old Yogesh Sonkesariya of Bharti Agriculture College, Durg, has been described by police as the alleged mastermind. Two other suspects are still absconding, police said.
The paper leak came to light on August 20, shortly before the BSc Agriculture second-year, second-semester examination in AGCH 221 (Entomology) was scheduled to be held from 10am to 1pm across 28 agriculture colleges affiliated with IGKV.
According to police, information about the leaked paper was received through emails at the Agriculture College and Research Centre, Kawardha, at around 8.41am and by university officials at around 8.54am. Students and their representatives also alerted the university through WhatsApp after portions of the question paper began circulating on social media.
A case was subsequently registered at Telibandha police station against unknown persons under Sections 4, 5 and 10 of the Chhattisgarh Public Examination Act, 2008, and Section 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police said more than 100 personnel from the Anti-Crime and Cyber Unit and Telibandha police station were deployed to trace the source of the leak. Investigators questioned officials and employees involved in the examination process and conducted a technical analysis of screenshots, photographs, messages and social-media posts through which the paper had circulated.
The cyber team also analysed the timeline of the circulation, including the first account, mobile number or digital platform from which the paper was allegedly disseminated, and examined the digital links and locations of suspects.
The investigation led police to Anuj Minj of Durg, whose questioning allegedly provided leads to the source of the leak. Teams were subsequently sent to Kabirdham, Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur and adjoining districts, leading to the arrest of six suspects within 36 hours.
Police allege that Sonkesariya, who has been posted as a professor at Bharti Agriculture College since 2019, had for about a year been visiting the agriculture college in Raipur to deposit answer sheets of his college and collect question papers for upcoming examinations.
On August 17, he allegedly collected question papers for examinations scheduled in the following week after depositing answer sheets at the agriculture college in Jora, Raipur.
Police said that after taking the papers to his college, Sonkesariya retained the sealed envelope containing the August 20 entomology paper and allegedly took it home. He is accused of tampering with the envelope by making a small hole with a needle and sharp instrument and inserting a mobile camera through the opening to record the question paper.
According to the police, he subsequently prepared a copy of the paper and sold it for Rs 11,000 to three students of his college, including Ajay Nayak. Nayak allegedly then shared the paper with Tridev Patel, Nitin Pandey, Anuj Minj and Aditya Sahu.
Police said Rs 11,000 in cash, six mobile phones, a video-recording device, cables, a mobile connector, needles, an awl, notebooks and Fevicol were seized from the accused.
The arrested students were identified as Ajay Nayak, 20, Tridev Patel, 22, Nitin Pandey, 22, Anuj Minj, 22, and Aditya Sahu, 20.
Police said two other suspects allegedly involved in the case remain absconding and efforts are underway to arrest them. Further questioning of the arrested accused is also being conducted to establish the roles of other persons who may have been involved in the leak.
The operation was conducted under the direction of Police Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Shukla and supervision of senior officers, including Additional Commissioner Amit Tukaram Kamble and Deputy Commissioners Smritik Rajnala (Crime and Cyber) and Tarkeshwar Patel (Central Zone).
