A syndicate involving officials and employees of the Public Service Commission has leaked at least 30 question papers for government recruitment tests, including those for the Bangladesh Civil Service exams, over the last 12 years.

Investigators, however, believe the syndicate has been active for about two decades.  

This is according to CID officials and a first information report filed with the Paltan Police Station regarding the question leaks.

So far, 17 people, including six officials of the PSC, have been arrested. The arrestees include former PSC driver Syed Abed Ali, who lost his job in 2014 for involvement in leaking question papers.

Not having a job at the PSC did not deter Abed. He remained a key member of the syndicate and even got his son involved in the racket.

The CID filed the case on Monday night, accusing 31 named and 50 to 60 unidentified people. At least 14 named accused are on the run, read the FIR.

Investigators have found that at least two deputy directors -- Jahangir Alam and Abu Zafar -- and Assistant Director SM Alamgir Kabir and former assistant director Nikhil Chandra Roy, were involved.

Jahangir, Zafar, and Alamgir have been arrested while Nikhil is now on the run.

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Question leak: Six PSC officials, 11 others arrested

These officials used to leak question papers and hand those over to Abed through PSC dispatch rider Khalilur Rahman and office assistant Sajedul Islam.

These former and incumbent PSC officials and employees have been found to have become very wealthy.

Even though some of them were fourth-class employees, they own expensive cars, multiple flats, and commercial spaces in posh areas of the capital.

Over the last three months, there were transactions worth at least Tk 25 crore in the bank accounts of the syndicate members.

With assistance from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, the CID seized the bank account documents of 17 accused.

Sources said multiple money laundering cases could be filed after reviewing the documents.

Touhidul Islam, special superintendent of the CID's cyber investigation and operations, told The Daily Star yesterday, "We have found evidence that the 17 arrestees, including the PSC officials, were involved in leaking question papers for the railway recruitment exams held on July 5."

The syndicate was also involved in leaking questions of some other exams, he said.

Asked when the syndicate started leaking questions, Touhidul said one of the arrested PSC employees joined the commission in 1997 and began leaking questions within five years.

"We are investigating and conducting drives to arrest all those responsible," he said.

Asked about leaking questions of BCS exams, Touhidul said, "We have information, but we need to verify those."

Sources in the CID said they suspect more people from the PSC were involved.

During interrogation, Sajedul said he used to get the question papers from Zafar a day before the exam and that two members of the syndicate -- businessman Sakhawat Hossain and his brother Siam Hossain -- would teach examinees the answers at flats in Dhaka.

Abed and his son's job was to get the examinees who would pay for the questions, said sources.

According to sources, PSC DD Jahangir, who hails from Gaibandha, has multiple flats in Dhaka in addition to a home in his village.

He has a 2,000sqft well-furnished flat in Block-D of Bashundhara Residential Area. The CID arrested him from there on the night of July 7.

The CID also found multiple flats owned by Jahangir in Mirpur and Bhatara of the capital.

Investigators have information that there were transactions worth at least Tk 13 crore in his three bank accounts, sources said, without mentioning when the transactions were made.

On July 5, when the railway exam was being held, there were unusual transactions in his bank account.

PSC DD Zafar, who hails from Patuakhali, lives with his family in Azimpur Government Colony of Dhaka. However, he owns a plot of land and a flat in Mohammadpur.

Along with Jahangir, Zafar owns a coaching centre -- Jyoti Commercial Center -- for jobseekers at Chowdhurypara of Malibagh in the capital. The coaching centre is named after Zafar's wife, the sources said.

Asma Begum and Humayun Kabir, who run the coaching centre, used to gather jobseekers willing to pay for the leaked questions too, they said.

Meanwhile, six out of 17 arrestees yesterday made confessional statements before a Dhaka court. The 11 others were sent to jail.

Abed, Khalilur, Sajedul, Sakhawat, Siam and private university student Liton Sarker made the confessional statements.

Yesterday evening, the PSC suspended Jahangir, Zafar, Alamgir, Sajedul, and Khalilur.

The PSC also formed a three-member probe committee, led by Joint Secretary Abdul Alim Khan, to investigate the allegations of leaking questions.

The other members of the body are PSC directors Mohammad Azizul Haque and Dilawez Durdana.

The committee has been asked to submit a report within 14 working days, said PSC Chairman Sohorab Hossain at a press conference at his office.

He said the railway recruitment exam would be cancelled if evidence of question leak was found.

His announcement came following a protest rally of jobseekers in front of the PSC Agargaon office yesterday demanding scrapping of the test.