Over a year after the sensational UPPSC Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (RO/ARO) Preliminary Exam 2023 paper leak, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Kumar Abhinandan, a key accused who had been evading authorities.
Abhinandan, a medical store worker from Lucknow, admitted during interrogation that he paid Rs1 lakh in an attempt to secure a government job using leaked exam papers. He was arrested on May 29 near Manocha Bakery, under Thakurganj police station limits.
According to STF Additional SP Lal Pratap Singh, Abhinandan was lured into the scam by Dr. Sharad Kumar Singh, a PGI-based doctor who claimed access to leaked exam content. Sharad demanded Rs15 lakh in exchange for the leaked paper but accepted Rs1 lakh upfront from Abhinandan, along with his academic documents and a blank cheque as “security.”
Abhinandan, who also ran a pharma distribution company called Alaya Distributors, was told to travel to Bhopal on February 9, 2024. At Hotel Kamal Palace, he and other aspirants received the leaked RO/ARO question paper and answers from co-accused Subhash Prakash and Vivek Upadhyay.
“When I appeared for the exam, I realized the paper was genuine. But after hearing of Subhash and Vivek’s arrests, I deleted everything and went into hiding,” said Abhinandan in his confession.
The RO/ARO Prelims, conducted on February 11, 2024, were cancelled after the paper leaked hours before the exam via social media.
Abhinandan is now booked under multiple sections of the IPC, the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, and the Information Technology Act, and the case is registered under FIR No. 74/2024 at Civil Lines Police Station, Prayagraj.
With several co-accused including Sharad, Subhash, and Vivek already in custody, STF officials state that more arrests are expected as they continue to unravel the larger network behind the exam fraud.
