Ranchi: Six candidates, including three from Bihar, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly using a digital method to cheat in the SSC GD constable examination held at an exam centre in Ranchi, police said on Sunday.
Arrested Candidates Identified
The arrested examinees were identified as Risihikesh Kumar Yadav (27), Aryan Kumar (18), Rahul Kumar (21), Ravi Ranjan Kujur (21), Rajkumar (22), and Anu Kumari (22). Of them, Rishikesh, Rajkumar and Anu are from Bihar, while the remaining hailed from Jharkhand.
Modus Operandi Revealed
SP (city) Paras Rana told the media on Sunday that prima facie it appears a Bihar-based gang had negotiated with the owner of the exam centre located under Pandra police station limits to get remote access to the computers and assist the accused in solving the questions.
He added, “Police received information from the centre observer that in a few computers, the cursors were moving through remote access and the questions were being solved while the examinees kept sitting. A police team reached the spot and seized the computers and apprehended the candidates.”
During interrogation, the candidates told police that fraudsters had contacted them and asked them to come to the examination hall wearing a particular type of garments so that they could be identified. After spotting them inside the centre, their computers were accessed remotely and their question papers were solved.
Financial Transactions and Seized Items
Police said that a few candidates were asked to pay between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 13 lakh for the assistance, while the original certificates of others were taken.
Rana said the investigation was carried out with the help of multiple agencies, including the CID and ministry of home affair’s Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, before a team led by Kotwali DSP Nikhil Rai raided the centre on Saturday.
He said a similar modus operandi for cheating in competitive examinations had been detected earlier in multiple cities, including Dehradun.
Legal Action and Ongoing Investigation
A case has been registered at Pandra police station under relevant sections of BNS and the Information Technology Act against the six aspirants, the centre’s IT head and the superintendent. The IT head and superintendent are absconding, police said.
Police seized six computers, DVRs of CCTVs, internet routers, firewalls, a CPU, C-DAC boxes, admit cards, mobile phones and a tablet.
About the Author: Sanjay Sahay, with over a decade of experience in journalism, primarily covers crime, security, central agencies, and civil courts in Ranchi. He also reports on education policies.
