Jharkhand: 159 candidates among 164 held in JECCE paper leak

In a major crackdown on alleged examination malpractices, authorities in Jharkhand arrested 159 candidates and five others linked to a suspected paper leak in the Jharkhand Excise Constable Competitive Examination (JECCE) 2023, officials said on Sunday.According to the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, the arrests followed a tip-off received by the Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police about a large gathering of aspirants at a building in Rargaon, under Tamar police station limits. Acting swiftly, police teams raided the premises and detained the candidates.
JSSC Chairman Prashant Kumar said that the aspirants had been provided with four sets of question papers, both in printed and digital formats, allegedly claiming them to be the actual JECCE exam papers. “The materials were seized during the raid. However, they did not exactly match the questions asked in the examination conducted on Sunday,” he told reporters.Investigations have revealed the involvement of an organised racket that allegedly charged candidates between Rs10 lakh and Rs15 lakh each for access to purported exam questions and answers. The five main accused are believed to be part of a broader gang known for manipulating competitive examinations across multiple states.

Jharkhand | A total of 159 candidates, appearing for the Jharkhand Excise Constable Competitive Examination (JECCE) 2023, and five others, were arrested yesterday in connection with the paper leak.

The five main accused are part of a gang involved in irregularities in… pic.twitter.com/Zc2WvY9il7

— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2026

The commission stated that candidates were transported to the location by agents of the gang and were instructed to hand over their mobile phones and admit cards to avoid detection. In several cases, aspirants had also issued bank cheques in the names of the gang members as part of the transaction.One of the key accused, a resident of Jehanabad in Bihar, is suspected to be an active member of the notorious ‘Solver Paper Leak’ network. He has allegedly been involved in multiple examination fraud cases, including recruitment exams in Rajasthan, the NEET, Bihar community health officer recruitment, and Uttar Pradesh review officer examinations.
Authorities confirmed that interrogation of the arrested individuals is ongoing, and multiple police teams have been deployed to trace and apprehend other members of the network. The case has once again highlighted concerns over the integrity of recruitment examinations and the growing menace of organised cheating syndicates across the country.