Patna: As many as 35 people, arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in malpractices during central Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Multi-Tasking Staff examination in Purnia district, were forwarded to jail by a local court on Friday. They include 12 impostors, seven employees of the examination centre concerned, 12 candidates and the man in whose rented house there were hiding.
Police recovered Rs 4.2 lakh cash, three laptops, a printer, four vehicles, 52 Aadhar cards, 18 cellphones, 22 ATM cards, 12 blank cheques and 40 e-admit cards from their possession.
Purnia superintendent of police (SP) Kartikeya Kumar Sharma said a Katihar-based gang is suspected to be the mastermind of the exam racket. “During investigation, it was revealed that deals for dummy candidates or impostors were made for Rs 10.5 lakh from each aspirant. The impostors were promised Rs 2 lakh for passing the examination for the real candidates, while Rs 25,000 was paid to them in advance. The centre supervisor was also given Rs 1 lakh for each candidate through a cheque.”
Sharma added that the activity of the flying squad, formed for inspection of the exam centre, is also suspicious. “They visited the exam centre for a very short time. Further investigation is going on in the matter.”
According to police sources, Vivek, a native of Patna, and Roshan from Katihar are suspected to be the mastermind of the racket. They also allegedly run six online examination centres in Patna.
On Thursday, the police had received a tip-off that several impostors were giving the examination in place of real candidates at a centre on Gulabbagh-Hansda Road in Purnia Sadar police station area. “A raiding team was formed and sent to the Purnia Digital Examination Centre. Upon inspection, 12 impostors were identified as their biometric data did not match the records,” the SP said.
According to the police, the 12 original candidates and two others were found hiding in the rented house of Suresh Chandra.
“During interrogation, the arrested candidates revealed that they were accommodated in various hotels in Purnia. The impostors were made to appear in the exam with the collusion of the institution’s staff. Using a fake cable network from the adjacent building, they manipulated the fake biometric system to check in and out of the examination centre during the exam period. The original documents of the real candidates were also recovered from the building,” Sharma said.
Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff and Havaldar (CBIC and CBN) exams were being conducted at the centre since September 30 in three shifts from 8am to 5pm. The test was of one-and-a-half hours, comprising 90 questions covering maths, reasoning, general studies and English.
“One of the impostors was appearing in the examination for the fourth time consecutively. Some had appeared two to three times earlier, while one was appearing for the first time,” the SP said.
The Puirnia SP added that the racket involves an organised gang, including the examination lab owner. “Continuous raids are being carried out at various locations to identify others involved in this fraud.”
Patna: As many as 35 people, arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in malpractices during central Staff Selection Commission (SSC) Multi-Tasking Staff examination in Purnia district, were forwarded to jail by a local court on Friday. They include 12 impostors, seven employees of the examination centre concerned, 12 candidates and the man in whose rented house there were hiding.
Police recovered Rs 4.2 lakh cash, three laptops, a printer, four vehicles, 52 Aadhar cards, 18 cellphones, 22 ATM cards, 12 blank cheques and 40 e-admit cards from their possession.
Purnia superintendent of police (SP) Kartikeya Kumar Sharma said a Katihar-based gang is suspected to be the mastermind of the exam racket. “During investigation, it was revealed that deals for dummy candidates or impostors were made for Rs 10.5 lakh from each aspirant. The impostors were promised Rs 2 lakh for passing the examination for the real candidates, while Rs 25,000 was paid to them in advance. The centre supervisor was also given Rs 1 lakh for each candidate through a cheque.”
Sharma added that the activity of the flying squad, formed for inspection of the exam centre, is also suspicious. “They visited the exam centre for a very short time. Further investigation is going on in the matter.”
According to police sources, Vivek, a native of Patna, and Roshan from Katihar are suspected to be the mastermind of the racket. They also allegedly run six online examination centres in Patna.
On Thursday, the police had received a tip-off that several impostors were giving the examination in place of real candidates at a centre on Gulabbagh-Hansda Road in Purnia Sadar police station area. “A raiding team was formed and sent to the Purnia Digital Examination Centre. Upon inspection, 12 impostors were identified as their biometric data did not match the records,” the SP said.
According to the police, the 12 original candidates and two others were found hiding in the rented house of Suresh Chandra.
“During interrogation, the arrested candidates revealed that they were accommodated in various hotels in Purnia. The impostors were made to appear in the exam with the collusion of the institution’s staff. Using a fake cable network from the adjacent building, they manipulated the fake biometric system to check in and out of the examination centre during the exam period. The original documents of the real candidates were also recovered from the building,” Sharma said.
Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff and Havaldar (CBIC and CBN) exams were being conducted at the centre since September 30 in three shifts from 8am to 5pm. The test was of one-and-a-half hours, comprising 90 questions covering maths, reasoning, general studies and English.
“One of the impostors was appearing in the examination for the fourth time consecutively. Some had appeared two to three times earlier, while one was appearing for the first time,” the SP said.
The Puirnia SP added that the racket involves an organised gang, including the examination lab owner. “Continuous raids are being carried out at various locations to identify others involved in this fraud.”