The written examination for the sub-inspector (Civil Police) and equivalent posts under the Direct Recruitment–2025 process was conducted peacefully across Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, with more than 5.31 lakh candidates appearing for the test in 2 shifts at 1,090 centres spread across all 75 districts.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB), the examination concluded successfully in a calm, secure and well-managed environment.
Over 5 lakh candidates took the exam. The first shift, conducted from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, witnessed the participation of 2,63,838 candidates, while the second shift, held from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, saw 2,67,927 candidates appearing for the test.
More than 1.26 lakh registered candidates remained absent, resulting in an attendance rate of over 67%, officials said. Authorities confirmed that no adverse report, disturbance or irregularity was received from any examination centre, and the recruitment test was conducted smoothly throughout the state.
Given the scale of the recruitment drive and the number of aspirants involved, the examination was conducted under strict administrative supervision and extensive security arrangements. Police personnel and district administration officials were deployed at examination centres to maintain law and order, regulate candidate entry, and prevent malpractice.
At the same time, authorities maintained close surveillance of online platforms and messaging applications to detect attempts to spread rumours, circulate fake question papers, or mislead candidates regarding the examination.
Police registered 7 separate FIRs over the last 2 days — March 13 and March 14 — at the Hussainganj Police Station under the jurisdiction of the Lucknow Police Commissionerate.
The police registered cases against the administrators and operators of social media groups for allegedly circulating false claims of question paper leaks and attempting to collect money from aspirants on the pretext of providing the exam paper in advance.
The FIRs were registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections related to cheating, spreading false information and causing public nuisance, along with provisions of the Information Technology Act 2000 dealing with online fraud and impersonation. Police also invoked sections of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024, which provides strict penalties for attempts to compromise the integrity of public examinations through unfair means or misinformation.
Man arrested in Agra for duping aspirants with fake papers
The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a man from Agra for cheating candidates by falsely claiming to provide question papers for the Uttar Pradesh Police Sub-Inspector and equivalent recruitment examination 2025.
“The accused, identified as Ayush Baghel, a resident of Engineers Colony under the New Agra police station limits, was arrested on March 13 following intelligence inputs gathered during online surveillance by the STF,” read a STF press note.
Officials said on Saturday that the accused had created multiple channels on the messaging platform Telegram, including “UP SI UP Police-2026”, “Result Panel Pvt TM” and “UP SI Exam Paper UP SI-2026”, to circulate messages claiming to provide leaked question papers of the written examination scheduled for March 14 and 15.
According to STF officials, Baghel and his associates allegedly used edited PDF files resembling question papers to convince aspirants and demanded money in return for providing the “exam papers”.
Payments were collected through UPI IDs and barcodes shared via the Telegram channels.
During interrogation, the accused told investigators that he worked with several associates and used social media to lure candidates preparing for competitive examinations. He allegedly collected lakhs of rupees from aspirants by promising access to question papers and received his share through commission-based transactions, including coupon credits in his online wallet.
A mobile phone was recovered from the accused at the time of his arrest. An FIR has been registered at Hussainganj police station in Lucknow under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Ordinance, 2024, and the IT Act. Further investigation is underway, STF officials said.
