Dehradun: Massive protests broke out across Uttarakhand after the leak of the Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) graduate-level examination paper, held on September 21.
Hundreds of unemployed youth, led by the Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh and other student unions, defied prohibitory orders and staged demonstrations in Dehradun and Srinagar Garhwal.
In Dehradun, students marched towards the secretariat, blocking major roads before being stopped by police. “The anti-cheating law has not deterred the mafia. Our months of preparation are wasted because of leaks engineered for money,” said Ram Kandwal of the Berozgar Sangh.
A separate protest in Srinagar Garhwal, organised by the student wing of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), saw placards reading “Paper Chor, Gaddi Chhod” as demonstrators voiced anger at repeated recruitment scandals.
Police have so far arrested four persons, including alleged mastermind Khalid Malik, who reportedly smuggled a device into a Haridwar examination centre and photographed three pages of the question paper. His sister Sabia and an assistant professor named Suman are also accused of being part of the cheating network. The three allegedly circulated the paper and its answers via mobile phones.
Earlier, police had detained Hakam Singh, a BJP worker previously accused in paper leak scams of 2012 and 2021. Officials said sections of the Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment and Remedies) Act, 2023, have been invoked and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the case.
Despite police and UKSSSC officials initially dismissing the leak as a “rumour,” three pages of the question paper circulated on social media within half an hour of the exam starting.
