MEERUT: A day after the union government introduced in the parliament, The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, to prevent question paper leaks in recruitment exams, the UP Special Task Force (STF) has busted a 12-member interstate gang involved in the solving of the online examination of the UP Police computer operator recruitment through remote access software.
Through this software, the gang was solving the question papers of the candidates while sitting at a remote location in the Baraut tehsil of Baghpat. The examination was being conducted throughout UP in different phases from January 29 to February 8.
According to Additional SP, Meerut field unit of STF, Brijesh Singh, “A surprise raid based on a tip-off was conducted at a rented accommodation in Baraut tehsil of Baghpat where our team detained three men while other three (solvers) managed to escape.
During questioning, they revealed shocking details. Among the three arrested was the kingpin of the gang Rachit Chaudhary, a resident of Shamli. Chaudhary revealed that with the help of his associates, the gang had got themselves allotted an examination centre at a school in Ghaziabad where a lab with 250 computer systems was set up.”
“A Haryana (Palwal) based computer hacking expert Ram Chauhan was lured into installing a few hacking softwares into one of the systems. Since all the computer systems were connected via LAN this master system gave access to the solvers who could take remote access to the node of that candidate who had paid Rs 5 lakhs to clear the exam”, he added.
Among the 12 persons arrested, 7 are the candidates, residents of Mathura, Baghpat, Agra and Muzaffarnagar. All have been booked in Baraut police station under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and relevant sections of the IT Act.
Several incidents of paper leaks have taken place in the past. In the worst case, The Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) 2021 examination scheduled to be held on November 28 was cancelled due to an alleged paper leak.
Notably, once The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 becomes an Act, all offences under its ambit will be cognisable (arrest without warrant), non-bailable, and non-compoundable (parties cannot enter into a compromise to drop the charges). The Bill proposes to punish the convict involved in paper leaks with a jail term of up to 5 years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh.
Through this software, the gang was solving the question papers of the candidates while sitting at a remote location in the Baraut tehsil of Baghpat. The examination was being conducted throughout UP in different phases from January 29 to February 8.
According to Additional SP, Meerut field unit of STF, Brijesh Singh, “A surprise raid based on a tip-off was conducted at a rented accommodation in Baraut tehsil of Baghpat where our team detained three men while other three (solvers) managed to escape.
During questioning, they revealed shocking details. Among the three arrested was the kingpin of the gang Rachit Chaudhary, a resident of Shamli. Chaudhary revealed that with the help of his associates, the gang had got themselves allotted an examination centre at a school in Ghaziabad where a lab with 250 computer systems was set up.”
“A Haryana (Palwal) based computer hacking expert Ram Chauhan was lured into installing a few hacking softwares into one of the systems. Since all the computer systems were connected via LAN this master system gave access to the solvers who could take remote access to the node of that candidate who had paid Rs 5 lakhs to clear the exam”, he added.
Among the 12 persons arrested, 7 are the candidates, residents of Mathura, Baghpat, Agra and Muzaffarnagar. All have been booked in Baraut police station under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and relevant sections of the IT Act.
Several incidents of paper leaks have taken place in the past. In the worst case, The Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) 2021 examination scheduled to be held on November 28 was cancelled due to an alleged paper leak.
Notably, once The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 becomes an Act, all offences under its ambit will be cognisable (arrest without warrant), non-bailable, and non-compoundable (parties cannot enter into a compromise to drop the charges). The Bill proposes to punish the convict involved in paper leaks with a jail term of up to 5 years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh.