Punjab Police bust pharmacy officer exam cheating racket; detain 35, seize 27 wireless devices

Punjab Police has dismantled a sophisticated, inter-state cheating racket operating during July 19 pharmacy officer recruitment examination, officials said. Police have detained seven key conspirators of the racket along with 28 candidates, and seized 27 battery-operated wireless devices used for cheating, they said. Police detected the use of pen cameras and real-time dictation during the exam conducted for recruiting pharmacy officers. The exam centres were set up at Faridkot and Ferozepur.

A candidate identified as Ayush in Ferozepur allegedly used a concealed pen camera to scan the question paper, which was sent to an accomplice, Sajan, in Bhiwani, Haryana, via WhatsApp, police said in a statement. Sajan forwarded the question paper to another operative of the racket, Deepak, who was stationed at a makeshift control room inside the residence of Gurmeet Singh in Society Nagar, Faridkot.

From this location, key accused Manjit Singh and Deepak dictated the answers in real-time via wireless equipment to several candidates sitting inside the exam halls, the statement said. Police investigation indicated that no leak of paper or involvement of officials has been found so far, it said. The breach occurred entirely in real-time after the exam commenced, it said.

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Preliminary investigation revealed that the mastermind behind the entire operation was Gurmeet Singh, an employee at the Sant Kabir Polytechnic College in Fazilka. The racket charged desperate candidates exorbitant sums ranging between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh to guarantee passing marks. Several candidates had already handed over post-dated cheques as financial security to the scammers, police said. The racket operated with corporate-level logistics, they added. On the morning of the exam, several operatives gathered at a hotel on the Faridkot-Kotkapura Road to distribute the specialised, battery-operated wireless micro-devices to the compromised candidates, the statement said.

A total of 28 candidates have been detained across Faridkot and Ferozepur for using these devices, 27 of which have been seized by police, it said. Police also detained seven main operators of the racket from Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, and raids are underway to arrest the remaining members of the gang, it added. An FIR is being registered in the case under the relevant sections of the BNS and the Information Technology Act. The investigation conducted so far has found no official involvement or "insider" role in the matter.