Bhubaneswar: Six persons have been arrested in connection with the alleged paper leak of Special Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET)-2025, Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra informed on Wednesday.
He identified Jitan Moharana, a data entry operator in the office of Board of Secondary Education (BSE), as the prime accused in the case. “The probe revealed that he could access the laptop of the BSE vice president in which the question was stored. He downloaded the paper into a pen drive before leaking it to others. The other five arrested are members of a teachers’ association and brokers, who bought and sold the question papers. We have identified the money trail of the cash transactions confirming their involvement,” he said.
The other five arrested are Bijay Kumar Mishra, working president of state teachers association (ex-cadre); Sanatan Bisoi, president of state teachers association (ex-cadre) in Koraput district; Ram Jee Prasad Gupta; Ajay Ku Sahoo; and Jayant Kumar Rout.
The Crime Branch DG further stated that they have digital evidence confirming that Moharana received Rs 2.50 lakh through a PhonePe UPI transaction. “Data from the electronic devices seized have been deleted and those will be sent for forensic examination, which will help us to gather further evidence in the case. All involvement in the case will be brought into investigation,” he said.
Further financial investigation is underway to ascertain the transactions made in cash, he added.
The OTET for in-service primary and upper primary school teachers across the state was abruptly postponed just hours before the scheduled examination on July 20 after images of handwritten question papers began circulating on social media the previous evening. The incident had raised serious concerns about the integrity of the examination process, besides sparking discontentment among the candidates.