Written contracts for leaked job exam questions at Tk 1 million

Applicants had to pay Tk 1 million to obtain the questions and answers for a recruitment examination. Those interested in the deal had to submit their original academic certificates, which would not be returned until the full amount was paid. Applicants unable to pay upfront had to provide signed bank cheques worth Tk 200,000 to Tk 300,000.

Members of the gang arrested over the leak of questions for the recruitment examination for assistant youth development officers at the Department of Youth Development used to enter into written agreements with jobseekers under these terms, according to officials involved in the investigation. They told Prothom Alo about the arrangement based on information obtained during interrogation of the arrested suspects.

The Special Response Battalion (SRB) arrested seven members of the gang during raids in and outside Dhaka from Wednesday to Friday. The authorities seized 116 Tk 100 stamp papers, 10 academic certificates belonging to jobseekers, cheque leaves belonging to 40 people and bank cheque books.

The arrested individuals are Nur Mohammad, 30, an office assistant at the National Board of Revenue (NBR); Md Jahangir, 38, and SM Imdadul Islam, 35, computer operators; Asadul Islam, 33, an office assistant at the Ministry of Defence; Md Rubel Islam, 33, a data entry operator at the Department of Environment; and two other gang members, Mofizul Islam, 23, and Md Hasinur Rahman, also known as Sujon. They were sent to jail through a court order yesterday.

Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin, commander of SRB-3, said the unit was conducting a shadow investigation into the case filed with Motijheel police station over the leak of questions for the preliminary recruitment examination for assistant youth development officers at the Department of Youth Development.

He said gang members signed written agreements with jobseekers on stamp papers for Tk 1 million in exchange for providing the examination questions and answers.

The applicants’ original academic certificates were kept in the gang members’ custody until the full amount was paid. Under the terms of the agreements, candidates could retrieve their certificates only after paying the entire sum.

Those unable to pay the amount upfront were required to hand over signed bank cheque leaves. Each cheque was filled out for an amount ranging from Tk 200,000 to Tk 300,000, Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin said.

Another SRB official told Prothom Alo that the gang members had collected signed bank cheques worth Tk 200,000 to Tk 300,000 from at least 40 jobseekers.

Investigators are examining how and from whom the leaked questions reached the gang members. Efforts are underway to identify others involved in the incident and bring them to justice, the official said.

According to investigators, after the question paper was leaked, answers were prepared and circulated among other members of the gang. They subsequently passed the answer sheets on to prospective examinees and people who had purchased the leaked questions.

Faizul Arefin said the answers to the leaked questions were circulated among other gang members through employees of the NBR.

According to information from investigation sources, NBR office assistant Nur Mohammad received a blurry photograph of the question paper on his mobile phone at 4:43am on 10 October. At around 6:15am, Jahangir, a computer operator at the same organisation, received a clearer photograph of the same question paper.

The answers were then prepared and sent to other members of the gang, who passed them on to prospective examinees and buyers of the leaked questions.

Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Motijheel division, said a decision had been made to transfer the case filed with Motijheel police station over the question leak to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police.

Investigation officer Mirza Mohammad Mukta said the case documents would be handed over to the CID on Sunday.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports formed a five-member committee on Saturday to investigate the alleged question leak. The committee, headed by an additional secretary to the ministry, has yet to submit its report.

Meanwhile, the recruitment examination was held again on Friday.

The preliminary examination for the recruitment of assistant youth development officers at the Department of Youth Development had originally been scheduled for 10 October. A total of 318,976 candidates were deemed eligible to compete for 242 vacant posts.

According to the original schedule, the multiple-choice examination was to be held at 10 educational institutions across Dhaka city from 11am to noon that day. However, reports of the question leak emerged before the examination began. After confirming the leak at 10:03am, the authorities postponed the examination.

The following day, 11 October, Md Atikur Rahman, deputy director (administration) of the Department of Youth Development, filed a case with Motijheel police station over the incident