Bhubaneswar, 3 August (H.S.) August 3: In a significant breakthrough in the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) question paper leak case, the Crime Branch on Sunday arrested Nihar Ranjan Mohanty, Vice President of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha.
Mohanty was taken into custody following an extensive round of questioning by the investigating agency on Saturday. With his arrest, the total number of individuals held in connection with the case has now risen to eight.
According to the Crime Branch, the probe has uncovered that the leak was orchestrated from within the examination board, with the prime accused being Jitan Maharana, a Data Entry Operator. Investigators believe Maharana played a pivotal role in leaking the question paper.
Further investigations revealed that Rs 2.4 lakh was transferred into Maharana’s bank account, establishing a financial motive and direct involvement in the illegal operation.
The controversy erupted after the question paper for the Special OTET-2025, meant for in-service primary school teachers, was leaked just days ahead of the scheduled examination. The test, which was to be held on July 20 across 193 centres in all 30 districts of the state, was abruptly cancelled through a late-night notification.
The unexpected postponement left over 75,000 teaching professionals in shock and dismay. A total of 75,403 candidates had registered for the Special OTET.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda
