Chhattisgarh professor uses endoscopy camera to leak agri university paper in Rs 11,000, 7 arrested
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Chhattisgarh professor uses endoscopy camera to leak agri university paper in Rs 11,000, 7 arrested")
Representative image. Photograph: (Magnific)
The accused, identified as Yogesh Sonkesariya, holds an MTech in agriculture. His duty was to bring and submit question papers and answer sheets, a task he had been performing for a year. He was paid a salary of Rs 20,000, which was insufficient to run his household.
A professor and six students have been arrested for allegedly leaking the entomology question paper for the second semester of the second-year BSc examination at Indira Gandhi Agricultural University in Chhattisgarh. The investigation revealed that Yogesh Sonkesariya, a professor at Bharti Agriculture College in Durg, purchased a Rs 2,500 endoscopy camera specifically to leak the paper.
He pierced a fine hole in the sealed envelope with a needle, inserted the camera through it, connected it to his mobile phone, and recorded a video of the question paper. Since the camera could not reach the later pages, only 18 questions could be recorded. Yogesh then watched the video and wrote out the questions in about an hour, before selling the paper for Rs 11,000.
Police confirmed that Yogesh had sold the paper for the ATKT (backlog) examination scheduled for August 6 and 7 to Ajay Nayak for Rs 10,000. Following this, on August 19, he handed over the paper for the entomology exam scheduled for August 20 to Ajay for Rs 11,000. Later, Ajay sold it to fellow student Tridev Patel for the same amount. Tridev, in turn, sold it to Nitin Pandey, Anuj Minj and Aditya Sahu for Rs 2,000 each. It was from this point that the paper went viral on WhatsApp. The college management has suspended Principal Dr A.K. Dubey and Yogesh.
Investigation reaches the kingpin
Retired DSP Satyendra Pandey explained that in cases such as paper leaks, cyber fraud, online betting and drugs, investigators first question the lowest-level accused or the final beneficiary. Based on this, links in the network are established using evidence such as digital trails, money trails and seizures. All the records of the probe have been revealed from mobile chats, call detail records (CDR), bank transactions, UPI records and location data.
Professor Yogesh leaked his first paper on August 6, the paper for the ATKT examination to be held on August 7. He gave this paper to Ajay. Since it was a backlog exam paper, it did not go viral. In exchange, Yogesh received Rs 10,000, which boosted his confidence. He then leaked the entomology paper on August 19, for the exam scheduled on August 20, selling it for Rs 11,000. Ajay sold this paper to fellow student Tridev Patel for Rs 11,000. Tridev then sold it for Rs 2,000 each to Nitin Pandey, Anuj Minj and Aditya Sahu. In addition, some other people are believed to have purchased the paper, and this is being investigated.
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The accused identified as Yogesh Sonkesariya holds an MTech in agriculture. His duty was to bring and submit question papers and answer sheets, a task he had been performing for a year. He was paid a salary of Rs 20,000, which was insufficient to run his household, and this is why he planned to leak the paper. He had come to collect the sealed envelope containing the August 20 entomology question paper from AG College (Jora) in Raipur. He took it to his home and leaked it from there.
The accused include Prof. Yogesh Sonkesariya (38) of Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, currently residing at Chandkhuri, Pulgaon; Ajay Nayak (20) of Nagarda, Balodabazar, currently residing at Borsi, Durg; Tridev Patel (22) of Saraipali, currently residing at Anand Vihar, Durg; Nitin Pandey (22) of Tamakoni, Bastar, currently residing at Borsi, Durg; Anuj Minj (21) of Patthalgaon, Jashpur, currently residing at Durg; and Aditya Sahu (20) of Hathod, Balod, currently residing at Borsi, Durg.
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According to media reports, all question papers are printed within the university, where two private staff members are employed, but no CCTV camera has been installed at the printing site, allowing easy, unmonitored access and raising concerns that private staff could also leak papers in future. Police found multiple similar lapses and will submit a report to university management, warning that leaks will continue unless printing and safekeeping arrangements are improved.
In response to the incident, Bharti Agriculture College has suspended Principal Dr A.K. Dubey and Prof. Yogesh Sonkesariya, since safeguarding the paper was the principal's responsibility. Yogesh took the sealed envelope home and kept it there for two days, unmonitored, before returning and placing it in a cupboard, even though its single key was supposed to remain with the principal. When the paper was later opened before a three-member committee for the exam, members failed to notice the tampering or the hole made in the envelope, revealing negligence at multiple levels. Police suspect similar irregularities may have occurred in other exams and are investigating further.
For just Rs 11,000, Yogesh jeopardised the futures of 950 second-year BSc students. Using an endoscopy camera, he filmed the question paper and spent roughly three-and-a-half hours preparing it, extracting 18 questions after repeated viewings, then used ChatGPT to refine them before handing them over to students who leaked them further.
