Bring beneficiaries of question paper leaks to book
The Detective Branch (DB) of police recently arrested 10 members of a gang allegedly involved in leaking question papers of recruitment test for ‘auditor’ post under the Comptroller and Auditor General office. Mahbuba Nasrin Rupa, a former leader of Bangaldesh Chhatra League and vice chairman of Dupchanchia upazila of Bogra, is one member of the gang. She was impersonating an examinee and sending the questions outside the examination hall through a device and her gang was sending the answers to their selected examinees.
The gang made monetary contracts with 18 candidates for recruiting in the auditor post. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) got information about 12 of them. Mahbuba Nasrin’s brother Md Rana is one of them. DB said Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) office’s expelled officer Mahmudul Hasan and Railway’s assistant stationmaster Jahirul Islam are involved with Mahbuba in these unscrupulous activities. Mahmudul Hasan was arrested while Jahirul is on the run.
Earlier last November, Bangladesh Bank cancelled the recruitment examinations of five state-owned banks over allegations of question paper leaks. Several officials of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology were allegedly involved with that incident. These two are not stray incidents as question paper leak gang’s activities are pervasive in our country. According to Prothom Alo report, the gang which is involved with the question paper leak of auditor post leaked questions of at least 18 tests in the last 10 years. Police found out that examinees who took exams in connivance with this gang got recruited in banks, railways, agricultural extension department and other offices.
According to DB police, the gang leaked question papers of many recruitment tests including that of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), city corporation, energy division, Bangladesh Railway, family planning directorate, cooperatives department, directorate general of food, energy division and Sadharan Bima Corporation.
We have seen in the past that the authorities become active for some time after such a crime is revealed but things get back to normalcy soon. We want to believe that such would not happen in case of question leak gangs. Law enforcers deserve kudos for busting the gang. Those who got recruited through illegal means with the help of the gang should be identified and brought to book. They are also equally culpable. Many deserving examinees were deprived of jobs due to question paper leaks.
BG press workers were once involved with the question paper leaks. But in this digital age, question paper leak gangs use different devices in leaking.
There is no reason to believe only those who were caught were involved with the leaking question papers. This corruption—whether in the admission tests or recruitment tests—must be stopped.