Principal, teacher among 6 arrested for helping students cheat in UP board exams

The Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested six people in Ghazipur district for allegedly being involved in organised cheating in the state board examinations, officials said on Friday.

The arrests were made on Thursday. A principal and a teacher of a government school in the Dhua Arjun area under the Saidpur police station limits of the district are among them, they said.

As per a statement issued by the STF, the arrests were made by its Varanasi unit.

”An STF unit acting on an intelligence input arrested six people from a panchayat building adjacent to the Kedarnath Inter College in Ghazipur district. Those arrested were involved in organised cheating during the Uttar Pradesh board exams,” it said.

District Magistrate of Ghazipur Mangala Prasad told PTI on Friday that the accused would be charged under the National Security Act (NSA).

When the Class 12 board exam for Physics was underway at the school, the accused were supplying solved answer sheets to some students taking the test. They took Rs 25,000 for each solved copy, according to the STF.

Those arrested include Ravindra Rai, the principal and assistant centre manager, Ashok Kumar Patel, a teacher, and solvers Rajneesh Kumar, Shailendra Yadav, Ravi Yadav and Piyush Kumar Yadav, the statement said.

”The principal took a picture of the question paper and shared it on a messaging application with the solvers. The solvers then solved the question paper which was to be submitted with help of Ashok Patel,” it read.

The STF has lodged an FIR regarding the matter at the Saidpur police station.