Noida, Dec 30 (PTI) With the arrest of 18 people, the Noida Police on Thursday claimed to have busted a gang involved in malpractices in government-held recruitment exams and suspected question paper leaks.
Among those arrested are a serving Delhi police official, two former paramilitary personnel and five women candidates, the police said, as it busted the racket just hours ahead of Thursday’s Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
According to police officials, the gang showed a question paper along with the answer key to candidates ahead of their examinations and charged them around Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajesh S said the lid blew off after some candidates of the CTET exam were found by a police patrol party in a suspicious situation near a hotel early Thursday morning.
When an inquiry was made, they told the police that they were staying at a hotel in Sector 71, under Sector 58 police station limits, but could not properly respond to further queries, raising suspicion.
“We have previously arrested people in connection with malpractices during recruitment exams like those done by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and lodged at least eight FIRs related to exams that were held in Noida,” DCP Rajesh told reporters here.
“However, the significant point in this case is that the exam centre was not in Noida but still these candidates had come here one day ago and stayed here. Two people from Sonepat, Haryana, also came to the hotel along with laptops. This raised suspicion of exam-linked malpractice,” he said.
Later, evidence suggested their involvement in malpractice and 18 people, including five women CTET candidates and a dozen mediators linked to the racket, were arrested early in the morning, the officer said.
“The evidence includes monetary transaction details between the accused persons and their Whatsapp chats, among others,” he said.
owever, Rajesh said more details are yet to emerge as full investigation in the case is still pending and the Noida Police has written to the CBSE to apprise it of the situation.
he mastermind of the gang is at large, the police said. PTI KIS TIR TIR
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