RAWALPINDI: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Thursday arrested five government teachers for their alleged involvement in leaking a class 5th English language paper prepared by the Punjab Examination Commission (PEC).

The teachers were accused of leaking the question paper through short message service (SMS) a day before the exam in the Rawalpindi district on February 9 this year.

A source said the teachers were called to the ACE building to cooperate with the investigators and were taken into custody when they reached there.

The arrested teachers were: Gulzar Hussain Raja, the principal of Abbasi High School; Mohammad Ramzan, Mohammad Asghar Raja, Zulfiqar Ali and Javed Akhtar.

After taking notice of the incident, the PEC had managed to prepare another paper the same day. Later, the government tasked the ACE with probing the matter.

On April 15, the ACE registered a case against eight teachers, including three principals of high schools, for leaking the paper.

They were booked under different sections, including 409, of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the anti-corruption act.

Sardar Abdul Razzaq, a senior high court lawyer, however, said section 409 was not applicable in this case.

“The anti-corruption investigators wrongfully inserted this clause.”

He said section 409 dealt with criminal breach of trust. If the charge is proved against anyone, he could face 10 years of imprisonment, said the lawyer.

When contacted, Sibtain Kazmi, the assistant director ACE, told Dawn: “Today, we have arrested five teachers and our investigators are grilling them. Efforts are also being made to arrest the remaining suspects nominated in the case,” He said the suspects would be produced before the anti-corruption court on Friday. In reply to a question, he confirmed that the teachers were arrested from the ACE building.

On the other hand, teachers in Rawalpindi have expressed serious resentment over the registration of FIR and subsequent arrest of the teachers.

“This is not fair with the nation builders. How three principals in grade 19 can play any role in leaking a paper of the primary class,” said Raja Shahid Mubarak, the president of the Punjab Teacher Union Rawalpindi.

He said if the government had any evidence against the teachers, the education department should have been asked to take departmental action against the teachers instead of registering an FIR.

“The registration of an FIR against nation builders, that too without any sold proof, is injustice with the entire teachers’ community,” he said, adding the teachers would raise the issue at every appropriate forum.