Gandhinagar, Jan 29 (IANS): Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board (GPSSB) has blamed the contractor for the Sunday paper leak in the recruitment examination for the post of junior clerk.

The contractor was given the contract to get question papers printed.

The GPSSB has said that an interstate gang is involved in the paper leak racket.

As per a GPSSB statement, the examination was scheduled between 11 a.m. in various districts of Gujarat, but after a midnight paper leaked,the exam was cancelled. A total of 9,53,000 candidates had applied for 1,150 posts.

GPSSB member Rajika Kacheria told media persons, "To maintain secrecy of the paper printing, the contract was given to an agency. None of the officers or the board members has any role in the paper printing or selecting the printing press. It is the private agency's responsibility, and the police will investigate their role too."

She further said that a part of the paper was leaked at midnight. "The police after detaining a candidate with the paper shared the leaked paper with the board. On verifying the original paper, it was found that some questions were leaked, so in the larger interest of the aspiring candidates, the board decided to cancel the written exams for junior clerks," she said.

Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) caught 15 people from Vadodara for their alleged involvement in the paper leak, said Sunil Joshi, Superintendent of Police (ATS).

He added that since the last three days, the ATS team was working on the movement of some suspects and Saturday night a candidate was caught with the paper. Following the lead, 15 persons were rounded up, Joshi said.

According to police sources, "The paper was leaked from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. A racketeer, who was in the past involved in the Odisha paper leak case, his name has surfaced in this paper leak also. The racketeers were looking for sound buyers who could pay from Rs 3 to 4 lakh."