In a significant move against a major recruitment exam scam in Uttar Pradesh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted a supplementary chargesheet involving 18 accused individuals. Among them is Rajiv Nayan Mishra, the alleged mastermind in the UP Police Constable Recruitment Exam–2023 paper leak case.
The chargesheet was presented before the Special Judge, CBI Court, Lucknow, recognized as a Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED’s investigation was triggered by an FIR filed on March 6, 2024, by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UPSTF) at Kanker Kheda police station in Meerut.
According to the ED, the accused orchestrated a sophisticated criminal conspiracy to leak question papers for both the UP Police Constable Recruitment Examination–2023 (UPPCRE-2023) and the UP Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer Examination–2023 (RO/ARO Exam). These leaked papers were allegedly sold to candidates at high prices, enabling them to prepare by memorizing the questions and answers before the exams held in February 2024.
Investigators also disclosed that funds from the RO/ARO exam paper leak were utilized to fund the UP Police Constable exam leak, exposing a complex and self-sustaining fraudulent network. As part of the money laundering investigation, the ED identified assets worth Rs 1.02 crore as Proceeds of Crime (POC) and attached them through a Provisional Attachment Order dated August 6, 2024, later confirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority, New Delhi.
Previously, Ravi Attri and Subhash Prakash were apprehended by the agency on November 18, 2024. A chargesheet involving seven accused, including these two, was filed on January 10, 2025, with the court having already taken cognizance. The case is presently undergoing trial. The ED has indicated ongoing investigations, hinting at potential further disclosures and legal actions in the extensive exam scam that shook the state’s recruitment process.
