THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Patna, Dec 23: The CBI, with the assistance of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU), has arrested Nitish Kumar, the alleged mastermind of the Odisha Sub-Inspector recruitment examination paper leak case, from Khusrupur in Bihar. He had been absconding for a long time. CBI and EOU teams are currently interrogating him.
It is expected that the interrogation will lead to several crucial disclosures about the examination mafia network. Names of more individuals linked to the racket may also emerge. There are indications that some other examination mafias from Bihar and their associates could be connected to this network.
Earlier in the case, the gang leader Shankar Pushti had already been arrested. During questioning, he revealed that Nitish was managing the entire racket and was responsible for transporting candidates, arranging their stay, and facilitating access to the question paper. Based on this information, investigating agencies had intensified the search for Nitish.
Question paper leaked before the examination
The Sub-Inspector recruitment examination in Odisha was scheduled for October 5 and 6. However, before the exam, a conspiracy was hatched to leak the question paper to benefit certain candidates. As per the plan, Nitish was taking the candidates by bus to Andhra Pradesh on October 3.
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The plan was to keep the candidates at a secure location before the exam and provide them with the leaked question paper. However, Odisha Police acted in time, stopped the bus, and detained 117 people.
Arrested once, but managed to escape
Police had arrested Nitish once earlier, but he managed to flee by deceiving the authorities. After that, he kept changing his location continuously.
Acting on confidential inputs and technical surveillance, the CBI and EOU finally arrested him from Khusrupur in Bihar.
CBI took over the case after interstate links surfaced
When Odisha Police began investigating the case, it emerged that an organised gang was behind the paper leak, with its network spread across Bihar, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. After indications of an interstate gang surfaced, the case was handed over to the CBI.
Subsequently, the CBI and EOU jointly expanded the scope of the investigation and launched action against examination mafias active in Bihar. The arrest of Nitish Kumar is being seen as a major success in this direction. Investigating agencies are also probing where the question paper was leaked from and whether any insider was involved.
