Deal worth Tk 1 million
Five of seven arrested over department of youth development exam question leak are government employees
File Photo
SRB-3 has arrested seven people, including employees of several government agencies, over the leak of question papers for the recruitment examination for assistant youth development officer posts at the Department of Youth Development. Five of the seven arrested are government employees. They include a data entry operator at the Department of Environment, a computer operator at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and an office support staff member at the Ministry of Defense.
However, the original source of the leaked question paper has yet to be identified. Although the arrested individuals claimed they obtained the question paper through Facebook, they could not provide satisfactory information to substantiate their claims. SRB said the investigation was ongoing to identify the original source of the leak.
The arrested individuals are Md. Rubel Islam (33), a data entry operator at the Department of Environment; job seeker Md. Mofizul Islam (23); Md. Hasinur Rahman Sujon (32); S.M. Imdadul Islam (35), a computer operator at the NBR; Asadul Islam (33), an office support staff member at the Ministry of Defense; Nur Mohammad (30), an office support staff member at the NBR; and Jahangir (38), a computer operator at the NBR.
A large number of admit cards, stamps, bank checks, certificates, national identity cards and mobile phones were recovered from them during the arrests. The investigation team has initially found that the group collected Tk 800,000 to Tk 1 million from candidates.
At a press conference held Friday afternoon at SRB's media center in Karwan Bazar in the capital, Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin, commander of SRB-3, said the recruitment screening examination for 242 vacant assistant youth development officer posts at the Department of Youth Development was scheduled for October 10. A total of 319,000 job seekers applied for the examination. Although the test was scheduled to begin at 11:00 am, the authorities postponed it after confirming the question paper leak at 10:03 am that day.
After the incident came to light, SRB launched a covert investigation. As part of the operation, seven people were arrested in raids at different locations in the capital on October 14, 15 and 16. The Department of Youth Development filed a case with Motijheel Police Station on October 11.
Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin said Rubel Islam, Mofizul Islam and Hasinur Rahman Sujon were arrested in the Motijheel area on October 14. Based on information provided by them, Imdadul Islam was later arrested in the Uttarkhan area. With assistance from SRB-4, Asadul Islam was arrested in the Mirpur 10 area.
After reviewing conversations and chats on the arrested individuals' mobile phones, investigators gathered information that led SRB-4 to arrest Nur Mohammad in Savar on October 15. Based on information and evidence obtained from him, Jahangir was arrested in the Mohammadpur area on October 16.
How the question paper was distributed
Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin said a review of the arrested individuals' mobile phone chats showed that Nur Mohammad first received an unclear image of the question paper from a source at 4:43 am on October 10. Later, at 6:15 am, Jahangir sent him a clear image of the question paper.
Nur Mohammad then prepared answers to the questions and sent them to Jahangir and Imdadul. The question paper and answers were subsequently distributed to members of the group and candidates connected to them. Asadul, Rubel, Mofizul and Sujon were involved in the process. Investigation sources said the group used fake identities on WhatsApp to carry out such activities.
Asked at the press conference about the original source of the leaked question paper, Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin said identifying who supplied the question paper to Nur Mohammad that morning was a key part of the investigation. Although questioned about the source, Nur Mohammad could not provide a satisfactory answer.
He said Nur Mohammad and Jahangir claimed they had obtained the question paper through Facebook. However, the investigation team did not yet consider their claims reliable. The Facebook groups and accounts they mentioned were being verified.
“We are trying to find out the original source from which this question paper was leaked. The investigation is not yet complete. Efforts are underway to identify the original source of the question paper and others involved,” he said.
Asked whether any officials or employees of the Department of Youth Development were involved in the leak, the commander of SRB-3 said no direct involvement of anyone from the department had been established so far. However, information had emerged indicating the involvement of employees from other government agencies. Further details could emerge as the investigation progresses.
