Records showing over 100 calls beyond office hours between a junior employee and a top official of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) helped the Odisha Police’s Crime Branch crack the case of the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) question paper leak, officials said.
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The Crime Branch on Sunday arrested Nihar Ranjan Mohanty, vice president of the BSE — the agency that conducts the OTET — for his alleged involvement. Earlier, seven persons, including a BSE data entry operator, Jitan Moharana, and several teachers were arrested in the case.
The OTET, which was scheduled to be held on July 20, was cancelled on the evening of July 19 after a handwritten copy of the question paper went viral on social media. It affected over 75,000 candidates. In Odisha, clearing the test is mandatory for appointment and promotion of teachers in government and private schools at the elementary level.
Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra said even though Moharana had no direct official dealings with Mohanty, there were over 100 calls between them beyond office hours. Earlier, Moharana was kept out of the examination process over his suspicious conduct in the past.
“Neither did Mohanty have any relation with Moharana, nor was there any direct official interaction. Despite this, there were over 100 calls between them in the past three months. This was the primary grounds for suspicion to zero in on the board vice president,” said the Crime Branch DG.
As per Crime Branch sources, Mohanty’s role was to set the question papers. Before printing, the Bhopal-based press had sent a password-protected copy of the question paper to Mohanty. He is accused of giving Moharana access to it and sharing it with two teachers, who sold it to others.