Dhaka University (DU) has refused to acknowledge that the admission test question paper was leaked, saying that the allegation is a “conspiracy” against the university and that the candidates merely want a retest. DU vice-chancellor Prof. Akhtaruzzaman said, “This is a conspiracy and we will unearth the truth. We heard about the question paper leak after the exam. So we have nothing to do now and there is no scope for a retest.” The DU authority yesterday released a press notice signed by Sadeka Halim, acting dean of the social science faculty and also the coordinator of the DU ‘Gha’ unit admission test, protesting the news of thequestion paper leak. The press release stated, “The media has reported that the question paper of the ‘Gha’ unit admission test was leaked before the exam, which is false. There was no scope of a question paper leak, as the process of question paper printing is a well-guarded secret. Some media channels have claimed that the questions were leaked before the exam. But they made such news without giving any information to the authority before the exam. Yet, the exam ended successfully. We are surprised and worried on seeing the news, and we protest against it.”

The press release added, “With the help of the legal force, we have arrested a group for fraudulence in the exam with a wireless device and 15 candidates involved in it.” The press release also stated that the media should inform the DU authority once they get a leaked question paper.

Tamanna Akhter, a candidate, said, “I had prepared well for the exam and I really want to get admission into DU. But when I heard that the question was leaked, I felt disappointed. We want justice and the exam should be taken again.”

The elder brother of another candidate named Iqbal Hasani told The Independent, “I am a former student of DU. This year, my brother has written the admission test. But when I heard that the question paper was leaked the night before, I felt ashamed. The authority must take the exam again, as it is true that the question paper was leaked.”