Upazila vice chairman among 10 arrested over question paper leaks

Ten people, including an upazila vice chairman and a sacked government official, have been arrested by the Gulshan Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police for supplying question papers and answer sheets for a government job appointment examination.

The arrestees were taken into custody between 3 pm and 10 pm on Friday during raids in Dhaka’s Mirpur, Tejgaon Industrial Area and Kakrail.

The arrestees have been identified as Noman Siddique, Mahmudul Hasan Azad, Al Amin Rony, Nahid Hassan, Shaheed Ullah, Tanzir Ahmed, Mahbuba Nasreen Rupa, Raju Ahmed, Hasibul Hasan and Raqibul Hasan.

Mahmudul Hasan Azad is a sacked official from the Controller General of Accounts office and Mahbuba Nasreen Rupa is the vice chairman of Bogura’s Dupchanchia Upazila.

Six ear devices, six mobile SIM holders, five bank cheques, seven judicial stamps, 10 smart phones, six mobile sets, 18 entry passes and three sheets of leaked question papers were found in the arrestees’ possession during their arrests.

Detective police arrested two examinees who had cheated on the exams from Kakrail’s New Shahin Hotel, said AKM Hafiz Akhter, additional commissioner of DMP detective police.

Based on information obtained from them, an apartment in the Senpara Parbata area of Kafrul was raided. Police arrested four and seized devices, question papers and answer sheets.

Another detective police team conducted an operation at the BG Press High School and arrested cheating examinees and Rupa, one of the masterminds of the ring, in possession of Tk 200,000 and digital devices. The remaining suspects were arrested based on information they provided.

“An MCQ test was held at several educational institutions across Dhaka to appoint 550 people as auditors to the Defence Finance Department of the Controller General of Accounts office between 3 pm and 4:15 pm on Friday,” police official Hafiz Akhter said.

“According to information obtained by Dhaka Metropolitan Police, some of the arrestees used electronic devices, mobile apps and other means to leak question papers and answer sheets. We arrested them based on this evidence.”

Mahmudul Hasan Azad, Nahid Hassan and Al Amin had previously been arrested for leaking question papers in 2013, 2016 and 2019.

“The other arrestees used social apps and digital devices to leak question papers and set up a one-stop answer sheet providing service through smart watches, ear devices, mobile SMS or other such means.”

The arrestees had raised a significant amount of money by leaking question papers and answer sheets to a number of examinations for posts at banks and government agencies, police said.