Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath has asked investigating agencies to invoke the National Security Act against those involved in leaking question papers of competitive examinations, PTI reported on Wednesday.

“The exams should be transparent and corruption-free,” a government spokesperson said, quoting Adityanath. “The government will not tolerate those trying to play with the future of youths. Strict action will be taken against those who pollute the examination process.”

The spokesperson added: “The NSA will be invoked against those involved in paper leaks and if discrepancies are committed by the agencies involved in the process, they will be blacklisted and legal action will be taken against them.”

Adityanath has also asked the heads of recruitment boards to ensure that vacancies in their departments are filled without much delay.

The state police last week arrested 11 people for allegedly leaking question papers of a recruitment test for tubewell operators. This led to the cancellation of the examination. The police had made arrests in similar cases earlier this year.