Meerut/Baghpat, Feb 13 (IANS): A joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) from Meerut and Baghpat have arrested a 30-year-old man wanted in the Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) paper leak case.

The suspect carried a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head.

SP (Baghpat) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun said the suspect, Firoz Ali, was the aide of one Rahul Chaudhary, a shoe factory worker, from whose possession the police had recovered UPTET paper sets, admit cards of candidates and other official documents related to the examination.

"When Rahul was arrested, his two aides, Firoz and Balram, fled to Muzaffarnagar. Firoz has been arrested and Balram is still at large," the SP added.

According to police, Firoz is a graduate and met Balram and Rahul four months ago. The two opened an internet cafe together and allegedly began extorting money from aspirants preparing for competitive exams.

They were involved in the paper leak case and also used to act as proxy candidates for police service aspirants, the police official added.

Notably, the question paper of the UP-TET exam was leaked hours before the exam, scheduled on November 28, 2021.

The state cancelled the paper and handed over the case to STF.

So far, different teams of STF have arrested over 50 people, directly or indirectly involved in the case, from various parts of the state.