Major racket busted in Punjab, candidates caught cheating during Pharmacy Officer recruitment test, 35 arrested

As the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest has been going on in the national capital in the name of opposing the NEET exam paper leak, a case of cheating during a recruitment examination was reported in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-ruled Punjab. 35 people, including examination candidates, have been detained by the police in connection with the cheating incident. A Pharmacy Officer recruitment examination was conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) in Faridkot on Sunday (19th July). The examination was conducted to fill 454 Pharmacy Officer posts and attracted around 7,000 applications. The university organised the examination across 18 examination centres at the request of the Health and Family Welfare Department. The university had deployed flying squads to ensure smooth and fair conduct of the examination. How the cheating got caught The cheating incident during the examination came to light after the university’s flying squads detected candidates using sophisticated electronic devices at several examination centres. The candidates were caught and handed over to the police. An FIR was registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. An investigation into the matter by the Faridkot Police uncovered a well-planned operation involving modern surveillance equipment and real-time communication. The discovery led to the busting of an interstate cheating network that helped candidates cheat during the Pharmacy Officer Recruitment Examination. Police have detained 35 people in connection with the examination cheating, including 7 conspirators and 28 candidates. The police are on the lookout for other persons connected with the cheating racket. No paper leak before the examination: Police The investigators said that there was no evidence that the examination paper was leaked before the exam. One of the candidates named Ayush, who appeared for the examination at the Ferozepur examination centre, used a hidden pen camera to capture pictures of the question paper. The images were then sent via WhatsApp to one Sajan in Bhiwani, Haryana. Sajan shared the images with Deepak, who was operating a temporary control room set up inside a house in Society Nagar, Faridkot. Deepak and another accused, Manjit Singh, then sent answers to candidates inside exam centres through wireless devices. In an official statement released regarding the incident, BFUHS Registrar Arvind Kumar confirmed that the university’s flying squad was the first to detect a candidate cheating during the examination. According to him, the candidate was using a Bluetooth device to receive assistance. He stated that the question paper was not leaked before the examination, adding that photographs of the question paper were allegedly sent outside while the examination was going on. According to the Registrar, the university had already received prior intelligence inputs regarding these candidates. This helped officials take timely action during the examination. Mastermind of the cheating racket According to Punjab Police, an employee of Sant Kabir Polytechnic College in Fazilka is the mastermind of the cheating incident. The employee, identified as Gurmeet Singh, was leading the gang involved in the cheating incident. “The breach occurred entirely in real time after the examination commenced. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the mastermind behind the operation was Gurmeet Singh, an employee of Sant Kabir Polytechnic College in Fazilka,” a police statement stated. The gang charged the candidates between ₹3.5 lakh and ₹13 lakh by promising to help them cheat during the examination. Some candidates reportedly gave post-dated cheques as security. The police said that the cheating was carried out in a well-planned manner. On the morning of the examination day, the members of the cheating racket and the candidates gathered in a hotel located on the Faridkot-Kotkapura Road. The gang members handed over wireless devices to candidates. Devices like hidden pen cameras, wireless earpieces and real-time dictation were also used to help candidates cheat during the examination. The police have recovered 27 battery-operated wireless communication devices used to pass answers to candidates during the examination. State government to take final decision on the recruitment process Commenting on the matter, Medical Superintendent of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Dr Neetu Kakkar, said the Health and Family Welfare Department has taken notice of the incident. She clarified that the question paper was not leaked before the examination and that certain candidates were found cheating during the exam using electronic devices. She said that the state government would take the final decision on the recruitment process, which was initiated by Director of Health Services Dr Hitender Kaur on 4th June. “The department has asked BFUHS to submit a detailed report, following which the higher authorities will take an appropriate decision,” Dr Kakkar said.