New Delhi, Jul 11 – The CBI is expected to file a chargesheet against a youth who allegedly circulated a “doctored” screenshot of the UGC-NET paper on Telegram, leading to the exam’s cancellation after an alert from the Union Home Ministry about a potential “breach,” officials said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found no large-scale conspiracy in the incident and will focus the chargesheet on offenses related to attempt to cheat or cheating, according to the officials.
The CBI’s investigation into the alleged UGC-NET paper leak revealed that a school student had “doctored” the screenshot of the “leaked” question paper for the June 18 exam. The central agency has informally conveyed its findings to the government and is likely to file a chargesheet against the youth.
Over 11 lakh candidates had registered for the exam, which determines eligibility for junior research fellowships, assistant professor appointments, and PhD admissions in Indian universities and colleges. The Union Education Ministry canceled the exam on June 19 following an alert from the Union Home Ministry’s National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
The Ministry of Education stated, “The UGC received certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the examination. These inputs prima facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised.”
The investigation, taken over by the CBI, found that the school student had used an app to create the purported screenshot, changing the date to June 17 to give the impression he had access to the question paper and potentially make money by selling it. He attempted to suggest he could arrange subject-specific papers for exams scheduled later.
Forensic experts consulted by the CBI confirmed that the screenshot was doctored. The exam was canceled based on inputs from the University Grants Commission (UGC) indicating the paper was available on the darknet and allegedly being sold for Rs 5-6 lakh on messaging platforms.
The UGC-NET exam will now be held afresh from August 21 to September 4.
