On 9 February 2023, hundreds of unemployed young people protesting recruitment exam paper leaks clashed with police on Rajpur Road in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand. Police used lathis and say protesters threw stones, injuring 15 personnel. Thirteen protesters, including Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh president Bobby Panwar, were arrested. The same day the government approved an anti-cheating ordinance with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a Rs 10 crore fine, and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the lathicharge. The protesters' main demand, a CBI probe, was not granted in 2023. It came in 2025, after a fresh leak.
Key takeaways
- The Dehradun protest of 8 and 9 February 2023 followed leaks in exams run by both Uttarakhand recruitment bodies, the UKSSSC and the UKPSC, including the patwari exam of 8 January 2023.
- Police removed a sit-in from Gandhi Park late on 8 February. The next day protesters gathered near the Clock Tower; police say they threw stones and damaged vehicles, and protesters say police beat them.
- Police arrested 13 people, including Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh president Bobby Panwar, and reported 15 personnel injured. Protesters were also injured, but no count was published in the sources reviewed.
- Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a magisterial inquiry and approved an anti-cheating ordinance on 9 February. The Governor signed it on 10 February.
- The CBI took over a UKSSSC leak case only in October 2025, after a new protest led by Panwar, and filed a chargesheet against three accused in December 2025.
Background: a run of leaked exams
Uttarakhand has two recruitment bodies: the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) and the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC). Both faced leak cases in 2022 and early 2023 The Wire.
The largest was the UKSSSC graduate-level exam of 4 and 5 December 2021. In August 2022 the police Special Task Force (STF) arrested Hakam Singh Rawat, an Uttarkashi district panchayat member and BJP leader, calling him the main accused. Police said he took money from candidates for solved question papers. The BJP expelled him, and 19 people had been arrested by 18 August PTI via Careers360. The STF also arrested the owner of a Lucknow printing firm, Rajesh Chauhan, who it said leaked the paper for Rs 2 crore ETV Bharat.
Congress MLA Bhuvan Kapri asked the Uttarakhand High Court for a CBI probe, arguing that only "small fish" had been caught PTI via Careers360. In October 2022 the court dismissed the plea. It noted that the STF had almost finished its probe, 42 people had been arrested and a chargesheet filed Careers360.
Exams were then moved to the UKPSC, but leaks followed there too. The UKPSC patwari and lekhpal exam of 8 January 2023 was cancelled after a leak, affecting about 1.4 lakh candidates, and four people had been arrested by 10 February ANI via ThePrint. A UKPSC section officer, Sanjeev Chaturvedi, told investigators he had leaked papers in earlier years too, according to the special investigation team The Wire. On 3 February nine people were booked over leaks in the UKPSC assistant and junior engineer exams PTI via Careers360. The patwari re-exam was set for 12 February The Quint.
Who organised it and what they wanted
The protest was called by the Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh, a union of unemployed youth led by Bobby Panwar. It wanted a CBI probe, monitored by a judge, into all officials and staff of the recruitment commissions, and action against exam controllers. It said aspirants for police, patwari, forest ranger, PCS-J, lecturer and engineer posts were still jobless because of cancelled exams Aaj Tak.
These are positions that become available after a lengthy 6-7 year wait. A UKPSC position was last advertised in 2015.
A protester, quoted by The Wire, 14 Feb 2023
Timeline
Sit-in at Gandhi Park
Students met at Gandhi Park to plan the agitation and began a largely silent sit-in. Police asked them to leave, and at about 11.30 pm they were ordered out. Protesters were taken by bus to Ekta Vihar and told to leave around 12.30 am The Wire.
A Facebook post
Panwar posted that police and government were acting against students after forcibly ending the sit-in. By morning thousands had arrived from Tehri, Haridwar, Kotdwar, Rishikesh and elsewhere ETV Bharat.
Lathicharge and stone-pelting
Crowds gathered at the Clock Tower and on Rajpur Road. Around 4 pm police began a lathicharge after students refused to clear the road The Wire. Stones were thrown at police, fire brigade and media vehicles ETV Bharat.
Arrests, inquiry and ordinance
Thirteen protesters, including Panwar, were arrested. The CM ordered a magisterial inquiry and said he had approved an anti-cheating ordinance. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 followed ANI via ThePrint. The union called a statewide bandh for 10 February ETV Bharat.
Court-premises dharna
With prohibitory orders within 300 metres of the Parade Ground, protesters sat on the district court premises. Former chief minister Harish Rawat joined, fell ill and was checked in an ambulance. The same day Governor Gurmit Singh signed the ordinance PTI via Careers360 Madhyamam.
Patwari re-exam
More than one lakh candidates sat the re-run at 498 centres. Officials said no incident was reported PTI via Careers360.
Sit-in called off
Out on bail, Panwar went to the Shaheed Smarak sit-in with court permission and persuaded the youths to end it Amar Ujala.
Both accounts
Protesters' account
Women protesters told The Wire that police dragged and "thrashed" them at Gandhi Park, that no policewomen were present, and that some officers smelled of alcohol. They said a man not part of the protest suffered a head injury in the lathicharge. Protesters objected that their names and addresses were published in newspapers The Wire. Claim · SFI leader A Students' Federation of India leader said BJP youth wing members had joined the march and claimed they threw the first stones. No evidence for this was presented in the sources reviewed.
Police and government account
The Dehradun DIG said "Stone pelting was done & police vehicles were damaged while personnel were injured", and that "outside elements" had entered the protest ANI via ThePrint. SSP Dalip Singh Kunwar said outsiders tried to spoil the atmosphere and would face strict action ETV Bharat. Police said the crowd was asked to leave and charged only when it did not Republic.
Government's position Dhami said political organisations that had "lost their ground" were instigating the protesters, and that the protest "turned violent as elements from outside entered it" PTI via Careers360. Harish Rawat called the lathicharge a brutal act that cannot be condoned.
The anti-cheating ordinance
The Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance, 2023 makes offences cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable India Legal. Some outlets reported a slightly different title Madhyamam. Its main terms, as reported by PTI PTI via Careers360:
- Up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore for anyone using or aiding unfair means, from printing papers to publishing results.
- Candidates caught cheating barred from exams for 10 years.
- Confiscation of property gained through cheating.
Dhami called it "the sternest anti-copying law in the country". Officials told protesters their demand had been met, but IG Garhwal KS Nagnyal noted they were still protesting ETV Bharat. By 2025 the measure was in force as an Act News Arena.
The CBI demand in 2023
The CBI probe was the union's central demand, and the Congress backed it Republic. The government did not order one in 2023. It relied on the STF and SIT, and Dhami said those involved in irregularities "will not be spared" PTI via Careers360. In January 2023 the STF said the Enforcement Directorate had taken copies of the recruitment scam cases to examine a money laundering angle Republic.
Bobby Panwar's arrest and bail
Panwar was arrested on 9 February on charges linked to the stone-pelting. Police booked 13 students under charges including rioting and attempt to murder The Wire. About three days later a court granted him bail on condition that he not join violent or unauthorised protests. In November 2023 the court rejected a police application to cancel that bail Amar Ujala. He later stood for the Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat in 2024 and came third with about 1.6 lakh votes The Wire.
The 2025 leak and the CBI handover
On 21 September 2025, three pages of the UKSSSC graduate-level paper, for 416 posts, appeared on social media soon after the exam began. Police said candidate Khalid Malik photographed them at a Haridwar centre and sent them to his sister Sabia, who forwarded them to Tehri assistant professor Suman for answers. Suman instead passed them on, and they reached Panwar, who posted them PTI via Tribune Scroll. Police said Panwar was "under suspicion" for circulating the screenshots without verification News Arena. The day before the exam, police had arrested Hakam Singh and an associate for allegedly promising candidates success for Rs 12 to 15 lakh Scroll.
The Berozgar Sangh, now led by Ram Kandwal, began an indefinite sit-in outside Parade Ground Outlook. Panwar, by then heading the Swabhiman Morcha, became the protest's main face The Wire. Dhami first spoke of "nakal jihad" by a "coaching mafia and cheating mafia" Scroll. On 29 September he went to the protest site, promised a CBI probe and said cases against protesters would be withdrawn India TV.
- 1 Oct 2025: Dhami approved the CBI recommendation ETV Bharat.
- 11 Oct 2025: The UKSSSC cancelled the exam after the one-member inquiry commission of retired judge UC Dhyani reported ETV Bharat.
- 28 Oct 2025: The CBI registered a case and took over from the state SIT PTI via Tribune.
- 28 Nov 2025: The CBI arrested Suman, Khalid and his sister ETV Bharat.
- 20 Dec 2025: The CBI chargesheeted the three in a special court in Dehradun PTI via Careers360.
A High Court lawyer, Vikas Negi, said the key question was whether the CBI would examine only this leak or the irregularities of earlier years too ETV Bharat.
Outcome
- Deaths: None reported.
- Injuries: 15 police personnel, per police. Several students were also hurt; no official count was published in the sources reviewed.
- Arrests: 13 protesters, including Bobby Panwar, booked for rioting and attempt to murder. Panwar got conditional bail within days.
- Inquiry: Magisterial inquiry into the lathicharge ordered through the Chief Secretary.
- Law: Anti-cheating ordinance signed on 10 February 2023, with life terms and fines up to Rs 10 crore.
- CBI: Refused in 2023; granted in October 2025 for the new UKSSSC leak.
What is still pending
No findings of the 2023 magisterial inquiry into the lathicharge were found in any published report reviewed, and no action against police officers was reported. The outcome of the cases against the 13 protesters is not reported. The CBI's case covers the September 2025 exam; whether it will look at older leaks has not been announced. UKSSSC scheduled a graduate-level recruitment exam for patwari, lekhpal and village development posts on 14 June 2026 under face authentication and CCTV Aaj Tak.
Questions people ask
What happened in Dehradun on 9 February 2023?
Youths protesting recruitment paper leaks and their removal from Gandhi Park the night before clashed with police near the Clock Tower and Rajpur Road. Police used lathis; police say protesters threw stones and damaged vehicles, injuring 15 personnel. Thirteen people were arrested.
Who is Bobby Panwar?
He was president of the Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh, which led the 2023 protest, and was arrested on 9 February 2023. He later headed the Swabhiman Morcha, contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Tehri Garhwal, and led the 2025 paper leak protests.
What does Uttarakhand's anti-cheating law say?
The 2023 law allows up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore for those who leak papers or aid cheating in state recruitment exams. Candidates caught cheating can be barred for 10 years, and ill-gotten property can be confiscated.
Was a CBI probe ordered after the 2023 protest?
No. The state relied on its STF and SIT, and the High Court had dismissed a 2022 plea for a CBI probe. A CBI probe was ordered only in 2025, for the UKSSSC graduate-level exam leak.
Who was Hakam Singh Rawat?
An Uttarkashi district panchayat member and BJP leader arrested by the STF in August 2022 as the main accused in the 2021 UKSSSC exam leak. The BJP expelled him. Police arrested Hakam Singh again in September 2025 for allegedly offering to fix an exam for money, saying he had been held before on similar charges.
What did the magisterial inquiry find?
The Chief Minister ordered it on 9 February 2023. Its findings were not found in any published report reviewed for this page.
Sources
- ANI via ThePrint: Uttarakhand police arrest 13 protesters who pelted stones at police vehicle, 10 Feb 2023
- PTI via Careers360: Protests against recruitment exam paper leak continue, 11 Feb 2023
- The Wire: As paper leaks rock Uttarakhand, police's treatment of protesters come as a fresh blow, 14 Feb 2023
- Republic: CM orders magisterial probe into lathicharge on youths, 10 Feb 2023
- Aaj Tak: UKPSC aspirants' protest turns violent in Dehradun, 9 Feb 2023
- ETV Bharat (Hindi): Uttarakhand bandh called against lathicharge, 9 Feb 2023
- ETV Bharat (Hindi): How one post brought the unemployed onto Dehradun's streets, 10 Feb 2023
- Madhyamam (citing ANI): Uttarakhand announces life imprisonment for exam cheaters, Feb 2023
- India Legal: Uttarakhand anti-copying ordinance, Feb 2023
- PTI via Careers360: Incident-free lekhpal exam in Uttarakhand, 13 Feb 2023
- The Quint: UKPSC patwari exam admit card and new date, 2 Feb 2023
- PTI via Careers360: Nine booked in UKPSC recruitment exam paper leak case, 3 Feb 2023
- PTI via Careers360: SSSC paper leak, no one will be spared, says CM, 19 Aug 2022
- ETV Bharat: STF arrests three more accused in UKSSSC scam case, 27 Aug 2022
- PTI via Careers360: HC asks Congress MLA to explain locus standi in seeking CBI probe, 6 Sept 2022
- Careers360: Uttarakhand HC dismisses plea for CBI probe into paper leak case, 20 Oct 2022
- Amar Ujala: Youths end sit-in after Bobby Panwar persuades them, 17 Feb 2023
- Amar Ujala: Court refuses to cancel Bobby Panwar's bail, 29 Nov 2023
- News Arena: No gang behind UKSSSC exam paper leak, say police, 22 Sept 2025
- Scroll: Uttarakhand CM alleges "nakal jihad" amid protests against paper leak, Sept 2025
- Outlook: Students demand CBI probe, sit on indefinite strike, 25 Sept 2025
- The Wire: "Paper leak" agitations leave CM Dhami besieged, 28 Sept 2025
- India TV: Protest ends after CM Dhami meets job aspirants, assures CBI probe, 29 Sept 2025
- ETV Bharat: CM Dhami approves CBI probe into UKSSSC paper leak case, 2 Oct 2025
- ETV Bharat: UKSSSC cancels graduate-level exam after inquiry report, 11 Oct 2025
- ETV Bharat: CBI takes over UKSSSC exam paper leak investigation, 27 Oct 2025
- PTI via Tribune: CBI launches probe into UKSSSC paper leak case, 28 Oct 2025
- ETV Bharat: CBI arrests assistant professor in UKSSSC paper leak case, 29 Nov 2025
- PTI via Careers360 (Hindi): CBI files chargesheet in UKSSSC graduate-level paper leak case, 23 Dec 2025
- Aaj Tak: UKSSSC graduate-level recruitment exam on 14 June, 13 June 2026