REET 2021: Key accused in REET paper leak case arrested, say Rajasthan Police

Jaipur: The alleged mastermind behind the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers-2021 (REET) paper leak case, Batti Lal Meena, was arrested in Uttarakhand's Kedarnath along with another person on Sunday, police said.

A team of the Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) led by Inspector Mohan Poswal arrested him and Shivdas Meena from Kedarnath, an official statement said.

On Wednesday, the Rajasthan High Court issued notices to principal secretary (education), DGP, director of primary education and secretary of the board of secondary education on a petition seeking a CBI probe into charges of question paper leak and other malpractices during the exam held on September 26.

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Reacting to the development, BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena alleged that Batti Lal Meena is just a pawn and the SOG did not have the courage to arrest those who organised and monitored the examination.

"The SOG has arrested Batti Lal, but he is just a pawn in the REET paper leak case. Masterminds are those who are at the helm of organising and monitoring examinations. The SOG doesn't have the courage to lay hands on them. So, without a CBI inquiry, neither will the truth come out nor will the culprits be arrested," he said in a statement.

The BJP has been demanding a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the recently conducted Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (REET). BJP state unit president Satish Poonia had earlier alleged that key accused Batti Lal Meena is a Congress worker and his photograph with the party's state president, Govind Singh Dotasra, was circulating on social media.

Dotasra had denied the allegations, saying he did not even know Batti Lal Meena. The Rajasthan government has suspended an RAS and two RPS officers, 13 personnel of the education department and three policemen in the case.