The incident at Gorakh Prasad Private ITI in Siwan’s Daraunda block occurred on Tuesday, February 17, during the first day of the BSEB Matriculation exams.
According to a report in The Times of India, a Facebook Live broadcast was made from the handle of one of the officials of the institute just minutes before the exam began.
The stream showed students already seated inside the examination hall, in direct violation of security protocols that strictly ban mobile phones on the premises.
Although the footage was later deleted, it had already gained significant traction across various social media platforms.
CNBCTV18 does not independently confirm the authenticity of the viral video.
Following a complaint, the Daraunda police arrested the school principal, Pankaj Kumar, and seized his mobile phone. Preliminary investigations revealed the video was actually recorded using the principal’s phone by the ITI director, Prince Singh, who fled the scene and remains at large as police conduct raids for his arrest, according to Vikas Kumar, SHO of Daraunda police station.
Maharajganj sub-divisional officer-cum-super zonal magistrate Anita Sinha initiated an inquiry at the centre. She clarified that the video was taken before the paper commenced and did not involve any candidates.
This event was part of a broader series of irregularities on the opening day of the Matric exams; other centres across Bihar reported late-arriving students scaling boundary walls and gates to gain entry.
Desperate attempts to enter exam halls were reported across several districts, including a female student climbing the gate at Gardanibagh Girls Higher Secondary School, a candidate scaling the boundary in Buxar, and three others jumping walls in Begusarai to gain access.
A student at Devipad Choudhary Shaheed Smarak Miller High School, Patna, attempted to scale a 10-foot boundary wall but was stopped by security and denied access through the main gate owing to late arrival.
Approximately five to six girls reportedly entered the VM Inter College centre in Gopalganj by scaling the wall. Another student jumped over the wall at Munger’s NC Ghosh Plus Two High School in Jamalpur to take the exam. In Siwan, a late-arriving student was denied access and climbed onto the school gate before being convinced to come down.
Beyond entry struggles, the integrity of the exams was further challenged by cheating reports, including a viral video from Munger allegedly showing two students in a questionable encounter, with one appearing to consult a cellphone and what appeared to be a question paper while the other hid cheat sheets in his clothing.
