UKSSSC Paper Leak: Won't rest until we crush cheating jihadis, says CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said that an attempt is being made to wage a "cheating jihad" in the state with paper leaks and vowed an action against the guilty. The chief minister made the remarks while addressing a training workshop for the newly appointed state BJP officials.

His statement came in the wake of an uproar triggered by an alleged leak of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) graduate exam paper . "Conspiracies are being hatched to leak the paper in an organised manner to darken the future of the youth. The coaching mafia and the cheating mafia are working together to wage a 'cheating jihad' in the state. They are trying to spread anarchy in the state even before the investigation," Dhami said.

"But I want to tell all those cheating mafias and jihadists that we will not rest until our government crushes them," he added. Dhami said more than 25,000 youths have been given government jobs in the last four years, since he came to power, on the back of a strict "anti-cheating" law.

Only 16,000 people had received jobs in the 21 years since the state's formation, he also claimed. Dhami claimed that since 2022, when the law came into force, more than 100 "cheating mafias" had been jailed. But not many people are happy with that, he said. On the paper leak, Dhami said someone took a photo of the paper from inside and circulated it. No such incident was reported from anywhere else, even though nearly 80,000 candidates participated in the exam across the state, he said.

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UKSSSC exam paper leak

"We are still investigating it because our goal is to ensure that our youth receive justice at all costs and have the opportunity to be selected based on their merit," said the BJP leader. The UKSSSC exam was held on Sunday even as three pages of a question paper allegedly went viral on social media. Khalid Mohammad, alleged to be the main accused, and his sister, Sabia, who appeared as candidates, were arrested from Haridwar, Rishikesh Superintendent of Police Jaya Baluni said.

The SP said Khalid took photos of the question paper at the exam centre and sent them to his sister, Sabia, who then sent them to one Suman, an assistant professor in Tehri, to obtain the answers. Suman became suspicious of the questions and took screenshots of them, sharing them with someone who, instead of contacting the police or other authorities, uploaded them to social media, the officer said.