New Delhi, May 23: Three months after the alleged paper leak of an examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the CBI has registered an FIR and conducted raids at multiple locations across the country, an official said on Wednesday.

The agency on Wednesday raided 12 locations, including the Offices of Sify Technologies Ltd, entrusted to carry out the Combined Graduate Level (Tier II) exam, in Noida.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official said that "the decision was taken after the investigators found enough material in the matter". The agency in March had registered a preliminary enquiry to probe the paper leak based on the references received from the Central government into the matter.

The SSC, which conducts examination for subordinate services, had recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged paper leaks in the Combined Graduate-Level (Tier-II) exam held from February 17 to 22. The alleged paper leak had triggered widespread protests, following which a CBI probe was ordered. The SSC decided not to declare the results till the agency completed its probe.

A large number of candidates had earlier staged protests outside the SSC office at CGO complex in the national capital for several days seeking CBI probe.

The SSC conducts examinations for recruitment to lower categories of posts in the central government.

Nearly 30.26 lakh candidates had registered for the Combined Graduate Level examination, being conducted to fill up about 8,000 vacancies in 35 different ministries and departments.

While about 15.43 lakh candidates appeared for the Tier-I exam in August 2017, about 1.89 lakh candidates were shortlisted for the Tier-II exam. Of these, 1.41 lakh candidates appeared for the exam, conducted at 206 venues in 68 cities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2018 07:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).