BPSC cancels Bihar civil services preliminary exam after paper leak, inquiry ordered

The Bihar Civil Services preliminary exam was cancelled after papers went viral on social media minutes before the exam began at noon today.

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New Delhi: The Bihar Public Services Commission (BPSC) cancelled the Civil Services (preliminary) exam held earlier today (May 8) after allegations of question paper ‘leak’. 

“The exams have been cancelled. Other announcements will be made in due course,” BPSC Examination Controller Amarendra Kumar told news agency PTI. 

A three-member committee has been set up to probe the incident and directed to submit a report in three days, BPSC Secretary Jiut Singh said. 

The exam was cancelled following reports that question papers were shared through messaging services WhatsApp and Telegram. The papers also went viral on social media minutes before the exam began at noon. 

“We received complaints of leak at the time of commencement of exams. We compared the screenshots with the question papers and those tallied with set C. The screenshots reportedly went viral nearly six minutes before the exams began. These allegations will be looked into by the inquiry committee,” Singh said. 

Moreover, in Ara's Kunwar Singh College, one of the BPSC examination centres, candidates alleged phones were used by some aspirants during the exam. "They (college officials) told us that our exam will be delayed but made some students give exams in two separate rooms with doors shut," claimed a student, as per ANI. 

Bhojpur DM Roshan Kushwaha reached the spot to placate the protesting students and said, "The boys and the girls have been asked to give their complaint in writing. We will submit these to the BPSC which alone can take any action. The local administration can only ensure that exams are conducted on the assigned day without any hindrance." 

Meanwhile, over five lakh candidates who appeared for the BPSC exam held at over 1,000 centres across Bihar, were left frustrated. 

“It is demoralising, to say the least. The exams were to be held in December but were deferred because of panchayat elections. Now, there is going to be further delay,” one of the students told PTI. 

(With agency inputs)