LUCKNOW, Jan. 8 -- After intelligence inputs received by the Special Task Force and a confidential inquiry into allegations of serious irregularities, including paper leakage, the Uttar Pradesh government has ordered the cancellation of the assistant professor examination on chief minister Yogi Adityanath's directions, according to a press release. The Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission has been directed to conduct the examination afresh at the earliest, ensuring complete fairness, transparency, and integrity. The examination was conducted in April last year by the UPESSC. The chief minister had ordered the confidential inquiry, according to the press release. The STF uncovered the racket involved in preparing fake question papers and cheating candidates during the assistant professor examination conducted on April 16 and 17, 2025, the press release added. Acting on the inputs, the STF arrested three accused -- Mehboob Ali, Baijnath Pal and Vinay Pal -- on April 20, who were part of a gang involved in preparing fake question papers for the assistant professor examination and defrauding candidates through illegal means. The arrests were made on charges of examination rigging and extortion. An FIR was registered at Vibhuti Khand police station in Lucknow under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The arrests were made in Lucknow, and recoveries included Rs.12 lakh cash, mobile phones, admit card copies, Aadhaar cards and a car. "The state government remains firmly committed to ensuring that all recruitment and selection processes in the state are conducted in a free, fair, transparent, and integrity-driven manner," according to the press statement. The Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh, while gathering intelligence on cheating syndicates, received inputs regarding irregularities, malpractice, and illegal extortion linked to the assistant professor examination held under Advertisement No. 51 by the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission, Prayagraj, in April 2025. To ensure the confidentiality of the probe, the then chairperson of the commission was asked to resign, as the prime accused, Mehboob Ali, served as the confidential assistant to the outgoing chairperson. According to the statement, during the interrogation, Mehboob Ali admitted to procuring question papers of various subjects during the moderation process and supplying them to candidates in exchange for money. His confession has been substantiated by STF through detailed investigation and data analysis. Further investigation, including analysis of mobile data of the accused and associated candidates, along with inputs from informants, led to the identification of additional suspects, the press statement said. Accordingly, the commission was asked to provide data related to the suspected candidates. Cross-verification of this data confirmed that the sanctity of the examination had been compromised. In view of these developments, the chief minister ordered the cancellation of the assistant professor examination. The government said the decision was taken keeping in mind the interests and future of genuine candidates and assured strict action against those involved in examination-related malpractices, according to the statement....