DEHRADUN: A first case under Uttarakhand’s new anti-copying law was registered in Uttarkashi district accusing a man, some unidentified aspirants and a news portal of “spreading misinformation” about the question paper of revenue sub-inspector (Patwari/Lekhpal) exam, a senior police officer said on Monday.
A first information report (FIR) was registered at Kotwali police station in Uttarkashi on Sunday night, days after the stern anti-copying provision was brought through an ordinance. The Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Prevention and Redressal of Unfair Means in Recruitment), 2023 Ordinance was promulgated by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday and got governor Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh’s assent a day later.
“We have filed the FIR under the new anti-copying ordinance at Kotwali police station against an identified candidate (Arun Kumar) and others appearing in the Patwari/Lekhpal (exam) at a polytechnic college and a news portal for spreading misinformation that seal of the question papers was opened before it was distributed among candidates,” said Uttarkashi superintendent of police (SP) Arpan Yaduvanshi. “A video (made by accused) in this regard has gone viral on social media.”
SHO Uttarkashi Kotwali police station Dinesh Kumar said the matter will be investigated by an ASP rank officer and attempts to identify the unnamed people and news portal will be made during the probe.
“The accused, influenced by malice, intentionally disseminated false, misleading exam related information on a social media portal,” stated the FIR.
The government has brought in the ordinance at a time when several paper leak cases have rocked the hill state in recent months, prompting unemployed youths to hit the streets in Dehradun over the past few days.
On Thursday, unemployed youth under the banner of Uttarakhand Berozgaar Sangh held a massive protest that turned violent resulting in injuries to over a dozen police personnel in Dehradun.
On Sunday, CM Dhami said his government has acted “boldly” against the “cheating mafia” by bringing a strict anti-copying law and sending those guilty to jail.
“It is 22 years since the creation of Uttarakhand. Those opposing me should ask themselves which chief minister sent people involved in paper leak cases to jail. Which chief minister brought the sternest anti-copying law in the country,” Dhami said after inaugurating a games and cultural festival in Dehradun district.
He said the ordinance has a provision for maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those indulging in or facilitating use of unfair means in recruitment examinations. It also has a provision for a fine of up to ₹10 crore, he added.
