“I get 40-50 people recruited across different states...I get recruitments done in Rajasthan, Bihar, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh among other states...My responsibility is only till the results come out, irrespective of whether it (the paper) gets cancelled,” Bedi Ram can be heard saying in a purported video which has now gone viral on social media.
Bedi Ram is an MLA from Jakhanian, which falls in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. He is a member of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the BJP. The party contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as the 2017 UP Assembly elections in alliance with the BJP. SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar has served as minister of minority welfare in the first Yogi Adityanath Cabinet.
The purported video comes on the back of allegations of question paper leak in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam as well the UGC-NET exam being cancelled because its integrity might have been compromised.
But Bedi Ram has allegedly been in the business since 2009.
He has been accused of leaking question papers and practicing unfair means in railway recruitment exams as well as recruitment in the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC).
According to Bedi Ram's history sheet, accessed by The Quint, he has nine First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against him for cheating, leaking question papers among other charges. So who is Bedi Ram and what are the charges against him? Let's take a closer look:
Nine FIRs in Three States: All Point to Paper Leaks
62-year-old Bedi Ram is a resident of UP’s Jaunpur and is a prominent Dalit face of Om Prakash Rajbhar's SBSP. After his purported video went viral, his pictures with senior BJP leaders including Adityanath and UP’s deputy chief ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya were also being shared widely.
In another purported video, SBSP chief OP Rajbhar can be heard saying, “If you want a job in any department, after filling the form call Bedi Ram. It is certain he will do some jugaad.” The Quint has not independently verified the veracity of the video.
As per his history sheet, Bedi Ram has four cases in Lucknow, two in Jaunpur, two in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and one in Rajasthan. The charges against him include various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including section 419, (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating, forgery, fraud), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). Besides, he was charged with:
Sections 4/6 of the Rajasthan Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 1992: Unauthorised possession or disclosure of question paper
Sections 2/3 of the UP-Gangster Act, 1986: Punishment for a public servant, who illegally helps or supports a gang member before or after commission of crime.
Sections 4/5/10 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 1998: Unauthorised possession, disclosure of question paper, leakage by person entrusted with examination work and penalties for both
Sections 3/9 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 1998: Use of unfair means and resources
According to Bedi Ram’s election affidavit, submitted to the returning officer in 2022, these cases pertain to railway recruitment exams in Rajasthan and Lucknow; MPPSC recruitment exams in Bhopal and police recruitment exams in Jaunpur. The cases have been registered against him between 2006 and 2016.
‘Bedi Ram, 15 Others Arrested in 2006 For Railway Exam Leak’
In the year 2006, the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) was scheduled to conduct the Group-D recruitment exam across India in three phases. The second phase of the examination was supposed to be held on 26 February 2006.
However, Senior Superintendent of Police, Special Task Force, S.K. Bhagat had received the information that some people had procured the question paper.
Responding to this tip, the STF team raided the house of Mohammed Aslam (one of the 16 accused) in Krishna Nagar area of Lucknow to find hand-written copies of the question paper being solved and given to candidates to memorise in lieu of money.
The handwritten questions were sent to the Divisional Railway Manager, and all 150 questions were found to match those in the original question paper. The Railway Board observed that the paper had been leaked, and cancelled the exam. About 16 lakh candidates had appeared in the examination.
16 were arrested, including Bedi Ram, according to the press note shared by the police. Original education certificates of the candidates and photocopies of admit cards and copies of the the question paper were recovered from the accused.
According to the press note, when interrogated, “gang leader” Bedi Ram had confessed to taking Rs 1-1.5 lakh from each candidate to solve the question paper.
“Money is taken after the candidates’ appointment. Till then, the original education certificates of the candidates are retained,” the press note stated.
'Absolutely Necessary to Take Legal Action Against Bedi Ram'
Bedi Ram was arrested by the UP Special Task Force (STF) on 17 July 2014 from Lucknow on allegations of paper leak in the railway loco pilot examination held three days before.
Then SSP Amit Pathak had said that two candidates arrested with answer keys from two centres of Lucknow informed the police during interrogation that the cheating material was provided to them over the phone by Bedi Ram and his nephew Deepak, as per a report in Jagran.
UP STF officer Triveni Singh had then told The Times of India, "Bedi Ram is adept at exploiting loopholes. He has strong connection in Railways and seems to have the knowledge of printing houses, which are awarded tenders to publish exam papers."
A month later, in a communication, IGP Sujit Pandeya on 21 August 2014 wrote to SSP, Lucknow about Bedi Ram’s arrest a month before, while referring to Bedi as “leader of the gang which leaks question papers of various competitive examinations and the notorious cheating mafia.”
Pandeya listed eight properties including houses, agricultural land, orchards and brick kilns – that Bedi Ram had “acquired through criminal activities” in Lucknow and Jaunpur.
In his communication, IGP Pandeya said, “It seems absolutely necessary to take legal action against the accused Bedi Ram under UP-Gangster Act and to confiscate the property acquired by him through his criminal activities.”
He added that the approval in this regard has been given by the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Uttar Pradesh.
A couple of months after his arrest, Bedi Ram was out on bail and had been absconding until his arrest in 2016 from Gurgaon, The Times of India reported citing STF sources.
'Bedi Ram Named in MPPSC, Chhattisgarh PMT Paper Leaks'
According to media reports, Bedi Ram had been a Railways employee – a chief ticket collector – until he was dismissed from service after his arrest in the paper leak case in 2006.
He was reportedly accused of leaking question papers of the RRB’s loco pilot exam in 2008, and railway exams in Bhopal and Jaipur in 2009. Bedi Ram’s name also reportedly cropped up in leaking question papers of the Ayurveda medical entrance exam held in Madhya Pradesh in May 2014 and the MPPSC exam in 2013. While the Ayurveda exam was cancelled, the interviews for the MPPSC exam were postponed. He had reportedly sold papers for Rs 30-40 lakh per candidate.
During the investigation, the Madhya Pradesh STF had found that MPPSC question papers were leaked in 2012 too by a Bihar-based gang through a printing press and sold to 50-odd candidates. The Bihar gang was linked to Bedi’s gang based in UP, The Times of India reported citing MPSTF sources.
In 2011, the Chhattisgarh police had registered a case after question papers of the pre-medical test (PMT), conducted by the state’s examination board – Vyavasaik Pariksha Mandal, popularly known as Vyapam – had been leaked.
In 2015, a Chhattisgarh court convicted five accused, including ‘kingpin’ Bedi Ram, and sent them to six years’ jail. However, Bedi Ram was on the run then. He was arrested on 25 May 2016 by the Madhya Pradesh STF from Gurgaon.
'Allegations Against Bedi Ram Fake, Baseless': SBSP
Bedi Ram had been arrested in 2012 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with Delhi PMT paper leak case, UP STF officer Triveni Singh had informed Hindustan Times. He was reportedly sent to Tihar Jail before being released on bail. However, Bedi Ram has not made any mention of this in his election affidavit of 2022
The Quint reached out to Bedi Ram and will update the story after he responds.
Even as Samajwadi Party chief and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav called for Bedi Ram’s “immediate arrest”, Arun Rajbhar, SBSP’s Chief National Spokesperson, told The Quint that the allegations against Bedi Ram are “all lies, fake and baseless.”
“Old letters and documents are being circulated on social media. The Opposition is digging out old cases because they have no issues to talk about. Bedi Ram has been given a clean chit in all cases by the CBI as well as the Supreme Court. This is a conspiracy of the Opposition; I challenge them to prove these allegations. Besides, there has been no link to NEET paper leak. He is being attacked because of his Dalit identity.”Arun Rajbhar, Chief National Spokesperson, SPSP
Bedi Ram has gone underground and the police are on the lookout for him, Deccan Herald reported citing sources.
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