Uttarakhand: Dhami Coins ‘Nakal Jehad’ to Deflect Attention From Paper Leak Scam

Dehradun: Facing heat over the leak of Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission Graduate level examinations following protests by youth, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has coined the term “Nakal Jehad” to deflect the attention of the masses, particularly youth, against such examination malpractices.

What prompted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister to term the examination paper leak as “Nakal Jehad” was the involvement of a Muslim candidate and her sister in the matter. Already, Dhami, has been vociferous in his anti-Muslim campaigns of ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’, ‘Mazar Jehad’, ‘Thook Jehad’ and now ‘Nakal Jehad’ to target and vilify the Muslim community.  

There have been protests by unemployed youth led by their leader Bobby Panwar against the paper leak issue despite prohibitory orders imposed by the police in various areas. It was alleged that the question paper of the examination was leaked half an hour after the exam began.

A protest was held at Srinagar Garhwal, spearheaded by the student wing of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), on Wednesday. Carrying placards of “Paper Chor, Gaddi Chhod”, students expressed anger at the trial of recruitment scandals in Uttarakhand.

“The students had taken permission for a peaceful protest but it was withdrawn by the police last (Tuesday) night, But the students went ahead with their protest,” said Mukesh Semwal, secretary of the Uttarakhand unit of SUCI.

Students protest at Srinagar Garhwal on Wednesday.

Interestingly, a day earlier, one Hakam Singh, along with an accomplice, a mastermind of the 2021 similar examination paper leak was arrested on the charges of promising success for money. Singh was a ruling BJP worker and a close associate of several senior party leaders, including former Chief Ministers.

As the agitation spread across the state, Police and Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission officials asserted that it was a rumour and the examination paper has not leaked.

But on September 23, 2025, the police arrested Khalid Malik, a candidate appearing in the examination as the main accused in leaking three pages of the question paper from an examination centre in Laksar in Haridwar district.

Rishikesh Superintendent of Police (SP) Jaya Baluni, who is the investigating officer, stated that evidence gathered during the investigation clearly showed that Khalid allegedly took a device to the examination centre at Adarsh Bal Sadan Inter College in Bahadurpur Jat village in the Pathri area of Haridwar, using which he photographed three pages of the question paper and sent them to his mobile phone, which was in Sabia's possession.

She said that Sabia allegedly sent these questions from Khalid's phone to Suman, an assistant professor in Tehri, and received the answers from her. "Sabia sent the question paper photo to Suman and obtained the answers from her, with the intention of helping Khalid cheat in the exam. Therefore, considering her role in the case, she has been arrested," Baluni told the media.

Three pages of the question paper for the undergraduate examination held on September 21 for various departments surfaced on social media.

Following a complaint, a case has been registered against four named and other unidentified individuals by Dehradun police under relevant sections of the Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Prevention and Control of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance, 2023, in the Raipur police station area of Dehradun. A special Investigation team has been formed by Dehradun police to probe the matter.

Chief Minister Dhami in a statement said that it was a case of ‘Nakal Jehad’ and all those involved in exam malpractices will not be spared under any circumstances.

The scandals of corruption in the recruitments for various positions in the Uttarakhand state are tumbling out of the cupboard of the state government since the formation of the state in 2001.

After the UKSSSC paper leak scandal in 2021, another scandal of paper leak in the recruitment for secretariat guards examination had surfaced with the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttarakhand police filing a FIR against six persons allegedly involved in the scandal at Raipur police station of Dehradun. It has come to light that the examination question paper was sold for Rs. 10 lakh each much before the actual examination took place.

Suryaknat Dhasmana, senior vice-president and organising secretary of Uttarakhand Congress.  

Reacting to the statement by Chief Minister Dhami, Uttarakhand Congress senior vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana and organising secretary termed it “unfortunate”. The Congress leader said that the Chief Minister, since taking over reins of power, had been trying to give a communal colour to everything. He demanded that a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) overlooked by the High Court Judge should be ordered to find out the scandal. He charged that the examination centre where the alleged leak took place belonged to a ruling party leader and to whom three pages of question paper were sent also belonged to the ruling party.

The Congress leader questioned why jammers were not in place at the examination centre. “Are BJP leaders from Sanjay Paliwal to Hakam Singh, Dharmendra Chauhan owner of the examination centre and Assistant Prof. Suman indulging in ‘Nakal Jehad’,” he asked.

The writer is a senior freelance journalist based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.