Members of a syndicate arrested over the leak of a recruitment exam for assistant upazila youth development officers allegedly signed written agreements worth Tk 1 million with job seekers in exchange for leaked questions and answers. Under the agreements, candidates’ original academic certificates were held as security until full payment was made.

According to Prothom Alo, citing officials involved in the investigation, candidates unable to pay the full amount upfront were required to submit signed bank cheques specifying amounts of Tk 200,000 to Tk 300,000.

Investigators obtained the information by questioning seven people arrested in connection with the case.

The Special Response Battalion (SRB) arrested the seven during raids in Dhaka and elsewhere between Wednesday and Friday. Authorities seized 116 Tk 100 stamp papers, 10 original academic certificates belonging to job seekers, and cheque leaves and cheque books linked to at least 40 people.

Those arrested include three employees of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), one employee of the Ministry of Defence, one employee of the Department of Environment and two other alleged members of the syndicate. They were sent to jail through court order on Saturday.

How the Answers Were Distributed

According to Lieutenant Colonel Faizul Arefin, commander of SRB-3, NBR office assistant Nur Mohammad received a blurry photograph of the question paper on his mobile phone at 4:43am on October 10. Around 6:15am, NBR computer operator Jahangir received a clearer image of the same paper.

The answers were subsequently prepared and sent to other members of the syndicate, who distributed them to prospective examinees and clients.

Investigators are examining how and from whom the question paper reached the syndicate. Efforts are also underway to identify others involved in the alleged leak.

The case filed with Motijheel Police Station over the question leak is set to be transferred 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.

Earlier, the Ministry of Youth and Sports formed a five-member committee on Saturday to investigate the alleged leak. The committee has yet to submit its report. Meanwhile, the recruitment examination was held again on Friday.

The preliminary screening test for assistant upazila youth development officers was originally scheduled for October 10 to fill 242 vacant posts. A total of 318,976 candidates had been deemed eligible to sit for the examination.

The multiple-choice test was scheduled to take place from 11am to noon at 10 educational institutions across Dhaka.

However, after reports of the question leak emerged before the examination, the authorities postponed it at 10:03am.

The following day, October 11, Md Atikur Rahman, deputy director (administration) of the Department of Youth Development, filed a case with Motijheel Police Station.