DU Gha Unit Admission: Question leaked hours before test

Two Chhatra League leaders and an admission seeker at Dhaka University were arrested yesterday over leaking the question paper of the university's honours admission test.

A mobile court also jailed 12 examinees under “Gha” unit for a month each for using an electronic device during the one-hour exam that began at 10:00am.

A number of students alleged that some admission seekers received e-mails containing questions of the English part of the exam around eight hours before the exam began.

Copies of the answers to these questions were sent to the mobile phones of some admission seekers around 9:30am, said complainants.

The Daily Star obtained a copy of the e-mail, containing 24 MCQ questions, which was sent at 3:19am yesterday. Each of the questions in the e-mail matched with those of the actual question paper. 

The DU authorities, however, brushed off the allegation of question leak, claiming that there was no chance anybody could do so on the night before the exam as the question paper was printed yesterday morning.

“We have not received any complaint about question leak,” Prof Sadeka Halim, acting dean of the social science faculty, told The Daily Star.

“If someone had got the leaked questions on Thursday night, he should have informed us about the matter before the start of the exam. Why are allegations being raised after the exam is over?” she questioned.

BCL LEADERS ARRESTED

The arrested Chhatra League leaders are Mohiuddin Rana, a master's student of physics and also an assistant secretary of the BCL central committee; and Abdullah Al Mamun, a third-year student of applied chemistry and chemical engineering and also the theatre and debate affairs secretary of the BCL's Amar Ekushey Hall unit.

The two were picked up by the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of police from two DU     dormitories early yesterday. During primary interrogation, the arrestees admitted to their crime, said CID.

The third arrestee, Ishrak Ahmed Rafi, was detained by the mobile court when he was taking the exam. Later, the CID took him in custody.

Meanwhile, the pro-Awami League student's body yesterday in a press release said it expelled Rana from the platform for violating “organisational discipline”.

Talking to this newspaper at the CID headquarters in the city's Malibagh, Rana said he was working as a middleman for a “syndicate”. “I contacted admission seekers and supplied them with leaked questions with the help of a former Chhatra League leader.”

He said he acquainted with Alip Biswas, an ex-BCL leader of Dhaka College, four years ago while carrying out organisational activities.

“Alip asked me to put some examinees under a contract,” said the BCL leader. According to him, Alip now works at Bangladesh Krira Shiksha Pratisthan in Savar.

“This year, I was assisting two examinees. I had two clients [students] for admission under 'Ka' unit last year. One of them got admitted to the university,” Rana said, adding that he received Tk 20,000 for the job.

Ishrak said he entered a Tk 4 lakh contract with Zenith, a student of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, who had introduced him to Rana.

Asked about Zenith, Rana said he became acquainted with the agricultural university student while conducting organisational activities. “Zenith is a Chhatra League activist,” he added.

Another arrestee Mamun said he was not involved in helping examinees get the answers through the electronic device.

“I got question papers of entrance exams of some public universities from a senior student at my dormitory. He is Moshiur Rahman Sameer, a fourth-year student of psychology and also a vice-president of the Chhatra League Amar Ekushey hall unit,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts, this newspaper could not reach Moshiur over the phone for comment.

Briefing reporters at the CID headquarters yesterday afternoon, Molla Nazrul Islam, special superintendent of CID, said they had information from a journalist that some DU students were involved in leaking questions of admission tests.

The CID then informed the DU vice-chancellor about the matter and sought his help to conduct a drive on the campus, he added.

“Along with the university's proctorial body members, we carried out drives at Amar Ekushey Hall and Shahidullah Hall and picked up Mamun and Rana from there.”

Nazrul said they seized electronic communication devices (which look like ATM cards), mini earpieces, and mobile phones from the arrestees.

According to the CID, an admission seeker can communicate with an outsider by inserting a tiny ear-piece into his ear and keeping the electronic device in his pocket. After a few minutes into the test, the examinee is told the answers through the device from outside the exam hall.

The CID official said they were probing the cheating and trying to nab the members of the “syndicate”.

12 JAILED

A mobile court, led by Executive Magistrate Towheed Elahi, jailed 12 admission seekers one month each for using electronic devices in the exam hall.

They are Nur Mohammad Mahbub, Farhadul Alam Rafi, Abdullah Al Mukim, Risad Kabir, Asaduzzaman Minarul, Istiak Ahmed, Joy Kumer Saha, Rezowana Sheikh Shova, Masuka Nasrin, Tarikul Islam, Nasirul Haque Nahid and Miraj Ahmed.

The CID filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station accusing the three arrestees under the public exams law and ICT act, said Abul Hassan, officer-in-charge of the police station.       

Earlier on October 13, another mobile court led by the same magistrate jailed 12 DU admission seekers under “Ka” unit for 15 days each for cheating during the entrance exam in a similar way.

Our DU correspondent contributed to this report.