Dehradun, 8 Oct: Khalid Malik, the prime accused in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) paper leak case, along with his sister Sabia, was produced before the District Court here today by the SIT, seeking extension of judicial custody. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) moved an application seeking extension of their judicial custody by 14 days, which was duly granted by the court. The SIT informed the court that the investigation is still underway and that further evidence is being collected in connection with both accused, necessitating the extension.
The SIT also submitted to the court that a search was conducted at Khalid’s residence in Haridwar recently. No books, study material or preparatory content related to competitive examinations were found in the premises. It was revealed that Khalid had applied for nine competitive examinations between 2024 and 2025 without any preparation and failed to appear in five of them. In the remaining examinations, where he actually appeared, he could secure extremely poor marks. The SIT argued that these findings indicate that Khalid had been scheming for a considerable period of time to clear competitive exams through dishonest means or collusion. The SIT is now pursuing this line of investigation to determine the timeline and nature of his attempts to cheat. Sources in the SIT claim that it may also seek the custody remand of Khalid for further interrogation.
So far, the SIT has not recovered the mobile phone that Khalid had carried into the examination centre. He had reportedly formatted the device and discarded it in a train’s rubbish bin while evading police pursuit. The police have, however, seized another mobile phone belonging to Khalid, which he allegedly used to send images of three pages of the question paper from the examination centre to his sister Sabia. This device too had been formatted. Efforts are currently underway to retrieve data from the seized mobile with the assistance of technical experts. If successful, the recovered data could reveal Khalid’s communications over the past two years and potentially expose other individuals involved in the cheating conspiracy, thereby providing crucial leads for the investigation.
SP, Rural, Jaya Baluni, who is heading the SIT, has revealed to the media that significant information was unearthed during the search of Khalid’s residence. One of the most unusual aspects is that Khalid had applied for certain examinations despite not possessing the required academic qualifications. The SIT is now probing the rationale behind his decision to apply for nine examinations without preparation and eligibility. In light of these developments, the SIT is expected to broaden the scope of its investigation further.
