New delhi July 11 2024 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to file a charge sheet against a youth who allegedly circulated a doctored screenshot of the UGC-NET paper on Telegram. This incident led to the cancellation of the exam after the Union Home Ministry alerted authorities about a possible breach, officials said.
The CBI’s investigation into the alleged UGC-NET paper leak revealed that the screenshot of the “leaked” question paper for the June 18 exam was manipulated by a school student. Officials confirmed that the central agency did not uncover any large-scale conspiracy and will limit the charge sheet to offenses of attempt to cheat or cheating.
More than 11 lakh candidates had registered for the UGC-NET exam, which determines eligibility for junior research fellowships, assistant professor positions, and PhD admissions in Indian universities and colleges. The Union Education Ministry canceled the exam on June 19 following an alert from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The UGC received certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the examination. These inputs prima facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised,” the Ministry of Education stated after canceling the examination.
The CBI, upon taking over the investigation, found that the screenshot of the exam paper was created by the school student using an app. The student altered the date of the screenshot to June 17 to create the false impression that he had access to the question paper before the exam, with the intention of making money. He also attempted to give the impression that he could arrange subject-specific papers for future sessions.
Forensic experts consulted by the CBI confirmed that the screenshot was doctored. The UGC received inputs from the I4C indicating that the paper was allegedly available on the darknet and being sold for Rs 5-6 lakh on messaging platforms, sources said.
The CBI has informally communicated its findings to the government and is expected to file the charge sheet against the youth soon. Meanwhile, the UGC-NET exam has been rescheduled and will now be held afresh from August 21 to September 4.
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