University in BJP-Ruled Chhattisgarh Cancels Exam After Allegations of Question Paper Leak

New Delhi: An examination held at an agriculture university in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Chhattisgarh was cancelled on Thursday (August 20) over allegations of question paper leak. The main reason for the allegations was a question paper that surfaced on WhatsApp wherein around 70% of its content matched the actual question paper, reported Indian Express.

According to an official of the university, around 500 students of B Sc Agriculture had appeared for the second-year second-semester entomology examination paper at Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur, earlier in the day.

“Around 9.30 am, the paper is opened at the centres and at 10 am, the exam begins. The document that was circulated on WhatsApp was not the examination paper. Someone had created the document but nearly 70% of its content matched with the examination paper,” the university’s registrar Dr Kapil Dev Deepak told Indian Express.

“We decided to cancel the examination in the evening and get it investigated by police to find out if the contents were internally leaked before the examination,” he added.

Later, in an official statement on Thursday evening, the Director of Instructions/Controller of Examinations said, “It is hereby informed to all the students of B Sc (Ag.) II Year, II Semester, 6th Dean, Academic Session 2025-26 that the examination of AENT 221 [Pest Management in crops and stored grains – I(Rabi Crops)], conducted on 20.08.2026, has been cancelled due to administrative reasons. The examination…will be rescheduled in the first week of September.”

The incident came to light after the Congress’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a protest. Later, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also staged a demonstration and submitted a complaint to the university, seeking cancellation of the examination and a thorough probe.

The latest instance of question paper leak at a BJP-ruled state comes at a time when the BJP-led Union government is under severe pressure from the opposition and also facing massive protests by the youth over incidents of question paper leaks. Last month, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had to resign after sustained youth protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

“This is another paper leak under the BJP’s rule. If the Entomology question paper was leaked before the examination, it is not merely an examination-system failure but a direct injustice to thousands of hardworking students,” said Chhattisgarh Congress’s chief spokesperson Vandana Rajput.

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