A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Ranchi police has arrested Arun Kumar, the director of the examination agency that conducted the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Junior Engineer (Diploma) Competitive Examination, 2022, in connection with the paper leak case, officials confirmed on Tuesday, 11 August. Kumar was apprehended in Mumbai following a targeted raid after investigators established his alleged role in the scam.

Background: The 2022 JSSC Exam Controversy

The JSSC had conducted the exam on 3 July 2022 for recruitment to 1,279 Junior Engineer (Diploma) posts. Within hours, reports surfaced that the answer key for the first shift had gone viral and that the question paper had been leaked even before the examination began. The Commission subsequently cancelled the examination entirely.

An FIR was registered at Namkum police station on 14 July 2022, based on a written complaint filed by candidate Mithlesh Kumar Mahto. The case was lodged under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act, and the Bihar Examination Conduct Act. A dedicated SIT was then constituted to investigate the matter.

How the Leak Was Engineered

Investigators confirmed that the question paper had indeed been leaked ahead of the examination. Probe findings revealed that the responsibility for conducting the exam had been assigned to Delhi-based Bynisys Technology Private Limited. According to police, a syndicate allegedly facilitated the leak, through which several candidates in Patna were provided answers in advance and made to memorise them before sitting the exam.

Evidence gathered during interrogations pointed to the alleged involvement of the examination agency and its operators in orchestrating the conspiracy, leading investigators to Arun Kumar — a resident of Khokhuna village under Chiksaura police station limits in Bihar's Nalanda district.

Arrests Made So Far

Police said several accused had already been arrested and sent to judicial custody prior to Kumar's apprehension. Those in custody include candidate and prime accused Ranjit Mandal, syndicate members Deepak Kumar, Abhishek Kumar, and Deepak Srivastava, as well as the examination agency's senior manager Krishna Kumar.

Kumar's arrest marks the most senior agency-level figure to be taken into custody in the case, raising questions about institutional oversight over third-party examination agencies.

Investigation Ongoing

Police confirmed that several other suspects remain at large, with raids being conducted at multiple locations to apprehend them. The SIT's net appears to be widening beyond candidates and middlemen to the agencies entrusted with examination conduct — a pattern that mirrors paper leak investigations in other states, including the high-profile NEET-UG 2024 controversy that triggered national debate over exam integrity.

The case underscores growing scrutiny over the outsourcing of public recruitment examinations to private agencies and the accountability gaps that critics argue such arrangements create.