The STF had informed FCI officials about the paper leak around 9.30 am, nearly 90 minutes before the examination was to begin. (Representational Image)
A question mark hangs over the Food Corporation of India (FCI) written examination conducted on Sunday by a private agency across Madhya Pradesh after the arrest of two middlemen and 48 candidates who were caught solving the question paper hours before the start of the examination.
Thousands of candidates appeared for the examination held at 132 centers in the state to fill the vacancies of 217 posts of watchmen to be deployed at the depots and offices of the FCI. The STF had informed FCI officials about the paper leak around 9.30 am, nearly 90 minutes before the examination was to begin.
On a specific input, the Madhya Pradesh State Task Force (STF) took into custody two middlemen and 50 candidates from a hotel in Gwalior when they were allegedly solving the question paper. STF (STF) Sunil Shivhare told The Indian Express that the candidates, from Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan, were to appear for the examination at a centre in Bhopal.
Shivhare said two middlemen Harish Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar, who leaked the paper, had allegedly struck a deal for Rs five lakh for each post and the amount was to be paid after selection. The original documents of the candidates are with the candidates.
Candidates who clear the written examination have to appear for a physical test. The AIG said it was yet to be ascertained if the leaked paper had reached hands of candidates who took the examination at other centers. He said interrogation of middlemen would throw more light on the modus operandi and who else was involved.