Crime
CBI Arrests Railway Officials In Chief Loco Pilot Exam Paper Leak Rs 1.17 Crore Seized
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended several railway officials in connection with the alleged leak of examination papers meant for the promotion of chief loco pilots at Mughal Sarai. The agency conducted raids on Monday night, leading to the recovery of Rs 1.17 crore in cash. As a result, the scheduled exam for Tuesday has been cancelled.
A CBI spokesperson revealed that during surprise inspections carried out on the intervening night of March 3-4, 17 candidates were found in possession of photocopies of handwritten question papers. “These candidates, who are currently employed as loco pilots, had reportedly paid money to obtain the leaked papers and were caught with the copies during the raid,” the spokesperson stated.
Widespread Arrests and Investigation Details
So far, 26 railway officials, including the 17 candidates, have been arrested in connection with the case. The CBI has also registered an FIR against a senior divisional electrical engineer (operations), who was responsible for formulating the exam questions.
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According to the investigation, this senior officer personally wrote the questions in English and passed them to a loco pilot, who translated them into Hindi. The translated version was then handed over to another railway official, who allegedly circulated it among the candidates with the help of a few other employees. The senior divisional electrical engineer is among those taken into custody, the spokesperson confirmed.
Seizures and Further Findings
During searches conducted at eight locations, the CBI recovered Rs 1.17 crore in cash, suspected to be the money collected from candidates in exchange for the leaked exam papers. “We have seized both the handwritten question papers and their photocopies. Upon verification, they were found to match the original exam papers,” the spokesperson added.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to determine the full extent of the leak and identify all individuals involved.