Cuttack: In a significant development in the OTET 2025 question paper leak case, the Crime Branch has arrested Nihar Ranjan Mohanty, the Vice-President of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE). This brings the total number of arrests in the case to eight.
According to Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra, a strong connection has been established between Shri Mohanty and the prime accused, Shri Jitan Maharana, a data entry operator at the BSE. The investigation revealed that the two were in regular contact, with call records showing approximately 100 communications over the past two to three months. Many of these calls occurred outside of official working hours.
The investigation further revealed that Shri Mohanty had the responsibility of coordinating with a Bhopal-based firm for the printing of the question papers. He had access to a password-protected soft copy for proofreading purposes. A major procedural violation was discovered as Shri Mohanty failed to delete this soft copy from his laptop after proofreading.
The Crime Branch has stated that Shri Mohanty’s negligence was a key factor in the leak. Despite having no official role in the examination’s conduct, Shri Maharana was allegedly given access to Shri Mohanty’s laptop, from which he obtained the question paper. This lapse in security allowed Maharana to leak the paper to his accomplices, who then sold it to candidates.
The case has exposed a deep-rooted nexus of malpractice within the state’s examination system. The Crime Branch is continuing its investigation to uncover the involvement of any other individuals and to trace the financial transactions associated with the leak.