Another Paper Leak? Uttarakhand University Cancels Two Engineering Exams, Professor Held

Published 24 July 2026 · education

Another Paper Leak? Uttarakhand University Cancels Two Engineering Exams, Professor Held Published By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 10:17 IST The SSP said the accused

Another Paper Leak? Uttarakhand University Cancels Two Engineering Exams, Professor Held Published By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 10:17 IST The SSP said the accused is being interrogated and action will also be taken against any other individuals found involved in the matter. Rapid Read The university has also barred Gupta from all examination-related duties for the next seven years with immediate effect. Paper Leak: Amidst the nationwide uproar and protest over paper leaks and irregularities in examination process, the Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) has cancelled two engineering semester examinations following allegations of a paper leak. The university has cancelled the 2025-26 academic session semester examinations for two subjects — ‘Machine Learning for Internet of Things’ and ‘Electromagnetic Field Theory’ — based on the report of its high-level inquiry committee and has decided to conduct re-examinations in the third week of August, news agency PTI reported. The university has also initiated an investigation into the incident and registered an FIR against the accused faculty member. The accused, Ashish Kumar Gupta, 40, an assistant professor at Shivalik College of Engineering in Dehradun, was arrested after the university lodged a complaint alleging he shared examination questions before the July 8 even-semester examination. As per the preliminary findings, Gupta was involved in setting the Machine Learning for Internet of Things exam paper. The inquiry found that nearly 90 per cent of the questions in the examination closely matched questions that had allegedly been shared with students in a college WhatsApp group before the exam.

According to Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Pramod Singh Dobal, the university’s Controller of Examinations informed police that an email alleged Gupta had circulated important questions through a WhatsApp group. A subsequent inquiry found that the questions shared before the examination closely matched the actual question paper. A high-level committee also found that similar questions had been shared on the students’ internal portal and WhatsApp before the examination. The complaint said that Gupta violated the confidentiality of the university’s examination system to gain an unfair advantage from students. Based on the inquiry report, the university cancelled the 2025-26 semester examination for ‘Machine Learning for Internet of Things’. However, the inquiry committee also cancelled the exam for ‘Electromagnetic Field Theory’ — another subject for which Gupta had prepared the paper — due to similar irregularities and the apprehension of a breach of confidentiality. Dobhal said that following the registration of a case under Sections 316, 318(4), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita based on the complaint, Gupta was arrested after considering witness statements and other documentary evidence. The SSP said the accused is being interrogated and action will also be taken against any other individuals found involved in the matter. The university has also barred Gupta from all examination-related duties for the next seven years with immediate effect and issued a warning to Shivalik College of Engineering over alleged lapses in institutional oversight.