Protests have swept Uttarakhand after the alleged leak of a state recruitment exam, triggering political backlash and raising questions over the government’s ability to safeguard job aspirants.

“Thousands of youth are on the streets against the paper leak in Uttarakhand's recruitment exam. A few days ago, millions of youth staged a long protest against rigging in SSC exams,” Delhi former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X on Thursday.

“Whether it is the BJP's central government, the BJP's Uttarakhand government, or the BJP's Gujarat government, the same story of paper leaks is everywhere,” Kejriwal added.

Kejriwal’s remarks came as protests entered their third day following the alleged leak of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) graduate-level examination held on September 21.

Screenshots of three pages of the question paper began circulating on social media barely 35 minutes after the exam commenced.

Police traced the leak to Khalid Malik, a candidate at Haridwar’s Adarsh Bal Sadan Inter College, who allegedly scaled a wall to sneak in a mobile phone hidden in his socks.

Investigators said Malik used a washroom break to photograph the paper and sent the images to his sister Sabia. She forwarded them to Suman, an assistant professor in Tehri, who in turn passed them on to youth leader Bobby Panwar.

Panwar uploaded them on social media, exposing the leak.

So far, police have taken four individuals into custody.

Malik, Sabia and another accused, Hina, face charges under the Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment and Remedies) Act, 2023 — the first major case under the state’s new anti-cheating law.

Police clarified that Suman will be treated as a witness.

The principal of the college where the leak took place is Dharmendra Chauhan, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Haridwar media cell chief, according to The Times of India.

He said that only 15 of the 18 classrooms used during the exam had jammers to intercept mobile signals.

Khalid was in a classroom that did not have a jammer or CCTV cameras, multiple media reports indicated.

The revelations sparked outrage across the state. Hundreds of unemployed youth under the banner of the Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh and other unions defied prohibitory orders and marched in Dehradun, Srinagar Garhwal and Almora.

Students blocked roads near the state secretariat and clashed with police.

Placards reading “Paper Chor, Gaddi Chhod” reflected the anger of aspirants, many of whom demanded the cancellation of the exam and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

“Months of preparation have gone to waste. The anti-cheating law has not deterred the mafia. This is nothing but a scam engineered for money,” said Ram Kandwal of the Berozgar Sangh.

The case has also revived memories of earlier scandals. BJP worker Hakam Singh Rawat, previously accused in the 2012 and 2021 paper leak scams, was arrested just a day before the recent exam.

His reappearance in the controversy has fuelled protesters’ claims of a deep-rooted nexus of “cheating mafias” thriving despite the 2023 law.

Initially, officials downplayed the leak. UKSSSC Chairman Ganesh Singh Martolia called it an “individual attempt to cheat,” while Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh denied the existence of an organised gang.

But as protests intensified, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami alleged a conspiracy by “coaching and cheating mafias” and dubbed the incident “nakal jihad.”

Speaking to new BJP office bearers on Wednesday, Dhami alleged that some persons had ganged up “to conspire to leak the paper” in order “to destroy the future of the youth”.

His choice of words drew criticism from the Congress, whose vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana accused the BJP of using communal rhetoric to deflect from administrative failures.

Chief Minister Dhami met a delegation of the Berozgar Sangh this week, but talks ended without a breakthrough.

Demonstrators have vowed to continue their sit-in at Dehradun’s Parade Ground until their demands for a CBI probe and exam cancellation are accepted.

The UKSSSC leak is the latest in a series of recruitment scandals in Uttarakhand.

Despite the enactment of the anti-cheating law in 2023, protesters say repeat offenders like Rawat prove that the system remains vulnerable.