IGKV cancels BSc agriculture exam over alleged question paper leak, orders four-member probe

Raipur: The examination for a subject of BSc (Agriculture) second year at colleges affiliated with the Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) at Raipur in Chhattisgarh was cancelled on Thursday following complaints of "question paper leak", university officials said. An IGKV official told PTI that the BSc second-year Agricultural Entomology exam was scheduled to begin at 10 am on Thursday, but the dean's office received an email at around 9 am complaining about an alleged paper leak. The email did not contain any question paper.

Officially, the state government-run university, however, cited "administrative reasons" to cancel the exam and rescheduled it in the first week of September. The varisty has constituted a four-member committee to probe the matter, the officials said. According to a circular issued to 33 colleges affiliated with the university, the examination for subject 'Pest Management in Crops and Stored Grains - 1 (Rabi Crops)' under AENT 221 (Agricultural Entomology) was cancelled due to "administrative reasons".

According to an IGKV official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, after the email addressed to the dean was received, a question paper was circulated in some WhatsApp groups of students, with claims it was the leaked paper. "On verification, it was found that the question paper that went viral did not completely resemble the genuine question paper, but around 70 per cent of the questions were similar to those in the actual paper," he said.

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The university subsequently decided to cancel the examination. The university constituted committee will investigate the matter and further action will be taken based on its findings, the official said. Students have been advised to regularly check official university notifications and remain in contact with their respective colleges or dean's offices for information regarding the revised examination schedule, he added.

Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the matter had come to the government's notice and assured that strict action would be taken against those found responsible for wrongdoing. "The university administration has cancelled the examination and constituted a four-member probe committee. The matter will be investigated and strict action will be taken against those found guilty," Sai told reporters in Raipur in the evening. The Opposition Congress criticised the BJP government over the alleged paper leak.

Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Vandana Rajput said the alleged leak of the BSc second-year Entomology question paper was a serious issue and matter of concern. She argued it was not merely a failure of the examination system, but amounted to playing with the future of thousands of students who work hard to prepare for exams. Rajput demanded an impartial and high-level probe to determine how the question paper reached outside the university before the examination and sought strict action against those found responsible for lapses.