Lucknow, June 7 -- The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Saturday arrested the alleged kingpin of a racket which promised aspirants leaked question papers through Telegram channels, officials said on Saturday. The accused, Om Kumar, a resident of Patna district in Bihar, was arrested from the Sushant Golf City area of Lucknow in connection with an FIR registered on a complaint by the examination controller of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University (ABVMU). According to STF officials, the accused operated multiple Telegram channels, including "UP CNET OUT QUESTION PRIVATE CHANNEL", "@Gauravsirofficials" and "@Youandmooon", claiming to provide leaked question papers and answer keys for competitive examinations conducted in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and other states. Investigators said the gang targeted candidates a day before examinations and demanded Rs.2,000-3,000 through QR code-based payments in exchange for purported access to question papers and answer sheets. The STF said it had received intelligence inputs about an organised network exploiting students by spreading rumours of paper leaks and collecting money online. During the probe, officials traced transactions linked to Om Kumar, who allegedly collected payments through accounts shared on the Telegram channels. Two mobile phones and two Aadhaar cards were recovered from his possession, police said. During questioning, the accused allegedly revealed that he and his associates had been running the fraud since 2022. STF officials said the gang routinely created Telegram channels in the name of upcoming examinations, lured candidates with promises of leaked papers, collected small amounts from a large number of aspirants and then shut down the channels once the examination was over. Police said the relatively low amount demanded from each victim often discouraged candidates from filing formal complaints, allowing the racket to continue undetected. An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act at Sushant Golf City police station. STF officials said efforts are underway to identify and arrest other members of the network....