Class 10 student dupes candidates on pretext of selling 'leaked' MP civil services exam papers

NEW DELHI: Police probing a cyber crime perpetrated on the pretext of selling "leaked" MP Civil Services Exam (Prelims) question papers were surprised when the suspect turned out to be a class 10 student, who learnt fraud skills from YouTube and wanted to splurge on expensive clothes and shoes. Prima facie, the student from Rajasthan decided to dupe job aspirants to earn fast buck to fulfil his expensive desires, including buying stylish clothes and shoes and eating at posh restaurants, a Indore Police officer said on Monday.

The student had also allegedly cheated on the pretext of selling the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper, he said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Tushar Singh said the student from Jhunjhunu district created a channel on the social media platform Telegram. He claimed access to the preliminary round papers of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) examination, held on June 23, and offered them for sale at Rs 2,500 each. A QR code was provided on the Telegram channel for payment via UPI, Singh said.

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Student's cheating tactics

"As soon as a person made payment through this QR code in the lure of getting the state service exam papers, the student would block the mobile number of that buyer. In this method of cheating, the student cheated two to four candidates," the officer said. The student did not possess any of the state service exam papers and falsely claimed that the paper was leaked to dupe candidates, he said.

"The student says he learnt the tricks of online fraud on YouTube. With the duped money, he wanted to buy high-priced clothes and shoes as well as to fulfil his hobbies of eating in expensive restaurants," the ACP said. The student has been served a notice under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and a detailed investigation into the cheating case is underway, he said. The student had also allegedly cheated on the pretext of selling the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper and the case is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with the help of Rajasthan Police, the ACP said.