JKSSB exam paper leak ‘kingpin’ remanded for ED interrogation

JAMMU — A special court in Jammu has placed Yatin Yadav, the alleged mastermind behind the 2022 JKSSB Sub-Inspector recruitment exam paper leak, on a seven-day remand. Yadav, 43, from Rewari, Haryana, will now face interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Arrest and court appearance

As per the news agency KNO, Yadav was arrested on Monday evening under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and presented in court on Tuesday. The special court, presided over by Judge Bala Jyoti, granted the ED’s request for a seven-day remand, citing the preliminary stage of the investigation.

Background of the case

The Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) conducted the Sub-Inspector recruitment examination for 1,200 posts in the Jammu and Kashmir Police on March 27, 2022. However, the exam was cancelled in July after allegations of cheating surfaced. Subsequently, recruitment exams for 1,300 Junior Engineers and 1,000 Finance Account Assistants were also annulled.

Investigation and charges

The Jammu and Kashmir administration transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which filed a chargesheet on November 12, 2022, against 33 individuals, including Yadav. Following the CBI’s First Information Report (FIR), the ED initiated its own investigation into money laundering aspects.

Court order

Judge Bala Jyoti, in her order, noted, “A perusal of the case diary and the entire material on record reveals that since the accused was arrested on June 24 and the investigation of the case is in the preliminary stage, he is remanded to ED custody for a period of seven days from June 25.” The judge instructed the ED to expedite their investigation during this period.

Allegations and broader implications

Yadav’s arrest coincides with national scrutiny over irregularities in major exams, including the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) and the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), prompting the Centre to assign these probes to the CBI.

ED’s findings

ED sources allege that Yadav, as the “kingpin” of the paper leak operation, collaborated with brokers in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir to orchestrate a scheme where candidates could access leaked papers for payments ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. Post-exams, the collected cash was deposited into Yadav’s bank accounts.

The ED has previously seized assets worth Rs 1 crore, including funds from Yadav’s accounts and a company named New Global Fumigation Corporation.