Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday constituted a three-member committee to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the alleged paper leak in the post-graduate (PG) exam conducted by the Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS), Bhubaneswar.
The committee will be headed by Additional Secretary, Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) Dept Bijay Kumar Dash, IAS. The other members are Dr Bijay Kumar Mishra, Special Secretary (H&FW Dept) and Dr Anil Kumar Sahu, Joint DMET Odisha.
The panel will ascertain facts, identify possible lapses and submit its report to the H&FW Department within two weeks.
An internal inquiry was earlier ordered after photographs of the question paper from its General Surgery theory examination for the 2023-26 MS/MD batch were allegedly circulated on WhatsApp while the examination was still in progress on July 27.
Amid outrage over another paper leak in this country, OUHS vice-chancellor Prof. Manash Ranjan Sahoo said it was a case of malpractice, not question paper leak.
“It was not a case of question paper leak. After the question paper was distributed, it went outside the examination hall. It was a case of malpractice. The university has stringent guidelines for malpractice, and a disciplinary committee has been formed for such cases, with the dean as a member. If any malpractice is found, necessary action will be taken as per the guidelines,” said Prof. Sahoo.
“After conducting a meeting with the deans, I came to know that students were allowed entry into the examination hall after frisking. However, a student might have carried a mobile phone inside the hall. The Dean has set up an inquiry committee, and after receiving the report, we will know about the lapse. The entire examination process was conducted under CCTV surveillance. After identifying the lapse, stricter action will be taken in the future,” he added.