Chhattisgarh professor held for leaking agriculture exam paper via endoscope camera

Raipur police have arrested six people, including a professor identified as the key accused, in connection with the leak of an examination paper for the B.Sc. (Agriculture) second-year, second-semester Entomology paper of Indira Gandhi Agricultural University (IGAU) on August 20.

The alleged mastermind, 38-year-old Yogesh Sonkesariya, is a professor at Bharti Agriculture College in Durg, where he has worked since 2019. Under university protocol, professors are responsible for carrying exam papers from the main agricultural college to their institutions and submitting answer sheets after exams.

On August 17, Sonkesariya visited the Agricultural College at Jora, Raipur, to submit answer sheets. After doing so, he collected question papers for exams scheduled over the following week, including the Entomology paper. Instead of submitting the paper to his college authorities, he took it home — a security lapse confirmed by both police and university officials.

He then purchased a thin endoscope camera, made a small hole in the sealed envelope with a needle, and copied approximately 15 questions by identifying words visible through the device. A day before the exam, he sold the paper to three students from his college, including Ajay Nayak, for Rs 11,000. Nayak allegedly passed it on to Tridev Patel, Nitin Pandey, Anuj Minj, and Aditya Sahu — all students of Bharti Agriculture College. Two more suspects are wanted.

The leak came to light on the morning of the exam when the Agricultural College and Research Centre, Kawardha, received an email alerting it to the leaked paper. University officials approached police, and the exam, scheduled from 10 am to 1 pm across all 28 IGAU colleges with around 1,200 students, was cancelled that evening. A re-examination has been announced.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) Tarkeshwar Patel said the investigation established the source of the leak and identities of all accused after 36 hours of field and technical work. Police seized Rs 11,000 in cash, six mobile phones, a video-recording device, cable wires, a mobile connector, a needle, a sharp instrument, a notebook, and adhesive.

Following the leak, the university revised its protocol for Saturday's first-year exam. Registrar Dr Kapil Dev Deepak said the question paper was sent by email, accessible only through a One-Time Password (OTP) shortly before the exam. "It is a lapse on the part of the college. We are taking suggestions from the police and a committee has been constituted to improve the system," he said.

An FIR has been registered under Sections 4, 5, and 10 of the Chhattisgarh Public Examination Act, 2008, and Section 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Police are continuing to question the arrested and are tracing the two absconding suspects.