4-day police remand for six accused in JOA-IT paper leak case in HP

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Six accused, including an employee of Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC), Hamirpur arrested in a paper leak case in Junior Office Assistant JOA (IT) examination in Himachal Pradesh, have been sent to four-day police remand.

All the accused were arrested on Friday by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV and ACB), for sale and purchase of question papers for the JOA (IT) exam that was to be held on Sunday.

After the paper leak was unearthed, the examination has been cancelled.

Additional Director General (ADG) State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV and ACB), Satwant Atwal said that the accused were produced to the court on Saturday, after which they were sent for police remand till 28 December.

Searches of the house of the accused were conducted during which some important documents have been recovered which is being verified, she revealed, adding that a considerable amount of currency and other incriminating evidence has also been recovered.

Following a complaint on Friday the SV and ACB PS Hamirpur arrested a person named Sanjay Sharma alias Sanjeev (tout), who had contacted the complainant with an offer to provide him question papers for the upcoming JOA IT exams for Rs 2.5 lakh.

After verification, a trap team, along with independent witnesses, was constituted by the vigilance team Hamirpur.

When Sanjay (tout) again contacted the complainant to meet him at NIT Hamirpur, both he and the complainant went to the house of Uma Azad (Sr. Supt secrecy branch HPSSC) situated at housing board colony Hamirpur.

Uma Azad along with her son Nikhil Azad provided the question papers and the team immediately apprehended them with cash and the question papers.

Three more were arrested including two candidates who had made online payments to the tout were also apprehended.

They have been identified as Neeraj, Ajay Sharma and Tanu Sharma.