The REET 2021 Paper Leak Scandal
Rajasthan's teacher-eligibility exam for roughly 16 lakh candidates was hit by a paper leak allegedly distributed for cash before the test even began, forcing a board chairman's dismissal, over 35 arrests, and a partial re-exam of the affected exam level.
The Promise
“The Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers will be conducted securely and fairly for every candidate competing for a limited number of government teaching posts.”
— Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan (BSER), Ajmer, State board responsible for conducting REET, the eligibility exam for Rajasthan government teaching posts · 26 September 2021
This reflects the Board's standard institutional mandate for the September 2021 REET exam, rather than a verified quotation from a specific BSER statement, which this entry has not located.
The Standard
An exam conducted for roughly 16 lakh candidates competing for about 31,000 teaching posts, using a secure, uncirculated question paper.
BSER's own examination-security protocols for a state-level teacher-eligibility exam.
In force from 26 September 2021
The Reality
REET 2021 was held on 26 September 2021. In Gangapur City, Sawai Madhopur district, the question paper was allegedly leaked around 8:30 am — roughly 90 minutes before the 10 am start — and found in the possession of a serving police constable, Devendra Singh, who allegedly distributed it to candidates for payment. The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) investigated, arresting more than 35 people, including alleged mastermind Batti Lal Meena, who was arrested in Uttarakhand's Kedarnath. The state government dismissed BSER chairman D P Jaroli and suspended board secretary Arvind Kumar Sengwa over the leak. On 7 February 2022, then-Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced cancellation of the Level-2 REET exam and its reconduct for an expanded 62,000 posts (up from 32,000). Opposition BJP leaders demanded a CBI probe, which the state government did not hand over; the case remained with the SOG. This entry has not been able to confirm the current trial stage or any convictions arising from the SOG's 2021–22 arrests.
As of 7 February 2022
The Gap
Bars share a single zero-based scale. No axis truncation is used to exaggerate or minimize the gap between the two figures.
Timeline
- StatusREET 2021 held; paper leaked in Sawai Madhopur
The exam is conducted for roughly 16 lakh candidates. In Gangapur City, the question paper is allegedly leaked about 90 minutes before the exam and found with a police constable.
- MilestoneSOG arrests begin
The Special Operations Group starts arresting suspects; more than 35 people are eventually held.
- StatusBoard chairman sacked
The Gehlot government dismisses BSER chairman D P Jaroli and suspends board secretary Arvind Kumar Sengwa.
- RevisionLevel-2 exam cancelled and expanded
CM Ashok Gehlot announces cancellation of the Level-2 REET exam and its reconduct for 62,000 posts, up from 32,000.
Legal Status
This is a stub entry. Over 35 people, including the alleged mastermind Batti Lal Meena, were arrested by the Rajasthan Police SOG; the state government resisted opposition demands for a CBI probe. This investigation has not confirmed the trial's current stage or any convictions.
Arrested by the SOG in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand. This investigation has not confirmed a trial outcome.
Named in connection with the leak in Gangapur City. This investigation has not confirmed a trial outcome.
Dismissed by the state government in connection with the paper leak.
Verdict
This is a stub entry, pending fuller research. The leak itself, the SOG's arrests, and the government's decision to sack the board chairman and reconduct the Level-2 exam for an expanded 62,000 posts are well documented. The trial's current status and any convictions have not yet been confirmed by this investigation.
The exam date, leak location, arrests, and administrative actions are corroborated across multiple independent reports from 2021–22. However, this entry has not traced the case to any confirmed chargesheet, trial verdict, or sentencing, and relies on contemporaneous news coverage rather than court records.
What remains incomplete
- This is a stub entry; deeper research on the trial's current stage and any convictions is pending.
- Whether a CBI probe was ever ordered, despite opposition demands, has not been confirmed beyond the 2021-era reports found.
- The total number of people ultimately chargesheeted or convicted has not been confirmed.
- This entry has not confirmed whether REET 2021 Level-1 (as opposed to Level-2) results were also affected or reconducted.
Sources
Related investigations
The NEET-UG 2024 Paper Leak Case
India's medical entrance exam for 2.4 million aspirants was compromised by a leak traced to a stolen question-paper trunk in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The CBI has filed multiple chargesheets, but the Supreme Court refused to order a national retest.
The Uttar Pradesh Food Grain (PDS) Scam
Between roughly 2002 and 2010, food grain meant for Uttar Pradesh's poor under the Public Distribution System, Antyodaya, Annapurna and Mid-Day Meal schemes was allegedly diverted in bulk to the open market and smuggled across the border, with CBI estimates of the diversion running to tens of thousands of crores of rupees. More than a decade on, hundreds of officials were named in FIRs but this entry could not confirm any major convictions, and UP has continued to top national rankings for PDS grain leakage.
The RG Kar Medical College Case: A Hospital's Duty of Care, Broken
A trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside her own hospital's seminar room in Kolkata in August 2024 -- a place meant to be safe under the hospital administration's basic duty of care to staff on duty. What followed was not just a brutal crime but an alleged cover-up by the hospital's own leadership, a CBI takeover, and nationwide doctors' protests demanding workplace safety that the system had failed to guarantee.