New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) A firefighter deployed with the Chandigarh Fire Department was allegedly kingpin of an interstate racket that enabled candidates to cheat in government recruitment examinations using concealed nano earbuds, bluetooth devices and customised mobile phones, Delhi Police said on Friday.
The cheating racket employed a highly sophisticated, technology-driven modus operandi that allowed candidates to receive answers, generated using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, in real time during government recruitment examinations, police said.
“The syndicate charged aspirants up to ₹12 lakh and supplied specially modified electronic gadgets that allowed candidates inside examination halls to secretly receive answers transmitted from outside,” police in a statement said.
Police have arrested seven persons in this connection including the alleged mastermind, and further investigation is underway, they said
The racket came to light after the Central Sanskrit University lodged a complaint on July 26 alleging use of unfair means during a Lower Division Clerk (LDC) recruitment examination held at a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi’s Janakpuri.
“During frisking at the examination centre, officials recovered a customised mobile phone from a woman candidate, while another candidate Hemant was allegedly found carrying a Bluetooth device fitted with a SIM card and concealed nano earbuds. Total 213 candidates appeared in the examination for six vacancy,” the statement read.
Based on the complaint, Delhi Police registered an FIR and arrested the two candidates.
During interrogation, Hemant disclosed that the Bluetooth device and SIM card had been arranged by his brother Rinku through a contact Virender for ₹12 lakh, so that answers could be relayed to him from outside the examination hall. Acting on the disclosure, a team arrested Rinku and Virender.
The arrested woman candidate told police that her friend Sanni had given her the customised mobile phone, Bluetooth device, SIM card and nano earbuds following a ₹10-lakh deal.
Police then arrested Sanni, who named Deepak as an associate of the network.
Deepak, a Class 12-pass, allegedly arranged the electronic gadgets and coordinated the transmission of answers during examinations.
“Using technical surveillance, social media analysis and other intelligence inputs, police traced Deepak, who revealed that he was working under directions of Sonu Kumar alias Sonu Maan, the suspected kingpin,” the police statement read.
Police tracked Sonu to Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, where he was allegedly caught while facilitating cheating in another government recruitment examination.
According to police, Sonu is employed as a firefighter in the Chandigarh Fire Department.
“During his arrest, the team recovered a tablet linked to a foreign account, customised mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, nano earbuds, mobile phones, SIM cards and other electronic gadgets along with incriminating documents,” the statement read.
Sharing details on the modus operandi, police said the cheating racket employed a highly sophisticated method that allowed candidates to receive answers in real time during government recruitment examinations.
According to police, the alleged kingpin, Sonu Kumar, had converted a car into a mobile control room from where he remotely assisted candidates appearing for examinations. The vehicle was equipped with a complete technical set-up, including multiple electronic devices and internet connectivity, enabling him to solve questions as they appeared on candidates computer screens.
“He had a full operational set-up inside the car. As soon as the questions appeared on the candidate’s screen, he used AI tools such as ChatGPT to generate answers,” a police official said.
To facilitate the operation, candidates were allegedly instructed to install two separate applications on their devices before the examination. One application enabled screen mirroring, allowing Sonu to view the candidate’s live examination screen remotely, while the other was a spy camera-based application capable of recording videos and capturing images, the officer said.
After obtaining the answers through AI tools, Sonu allegedly relayed them to candidates using concealed bluetooth-enabled nano earbuds that were virtually undetectable during frisking.
The officer said Sonu charged ₹10-12 lakh from each candidate for the service. Police said several beneficiaries secured jobs in reputed government institutions through the described cheating method, including one of the arrestees, Sanni.
Authorities have begun informing concerned institutions so that appropriate action can be initiated against those who allegedly obtained employment through fraudulent means, the officer said.
Police said Sanni, employed as a lab attendant at Delhi University’s Lady Irwin College, acted as an intermediary who identified candidates and connected them with the mastermind in exchange for commission.
Police are now probing the syndicate’s financial trail and examining whether the network was involved in similar recruitment examination cheating cases across multiple states.
Disclaimer: This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
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