The investigation into the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) examination fraud has blown the lid off a well-entrenched racket involving Indian Army and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) staffers which is suspected to have orchestrated similar malpractices with hired test takers in other public examinations.
The Kerala Police have apprehended 10 Haryana natives, including four fake candidates, in the case thus far. Another 15 impersonators are suspected to have appeared for the examination held to various posts on August 20 at various centres in Thiruvananthapuram.
While the Thiruvananthapuram City police moved swiftly to apprehend six persons within two days of the examination, a special investigation team managed to nab four more people from Haryana. The purported racketeers hail from Jind, Kaithal and Hisar districts. While seven of them are currently in police custody, steps have been initiated to obtain custody of the other accused.
The investigators have gathered evidence that indicated that all the accused are known to each other. Bolstering such findings is the seizure of original certificates of candidates from the impersonators, screenshots of question papers and payment transaction details that could prove key in establishing the conspiracy.
Amit, one of the accused who is currently in custody at the Cantonment police station, is an Army clerk stationed at Mohali in Punjab. He had allegedly impersonated one Rishipal, who had registered for the written test.
Piecing together clues gathered from various sources, the police found that the fake candidates had travelled from Chandigarh to Thiruvananthapuram via Mumbai. They are known to have used SIM cards obtained using fake documents.
“There are reasons to believe that the motley gang had established itself as an efficient network that could be hired by economically-backward candidates to appear for examinations on their behalf. While the registered candidates paid small sums through Google Pay for flight tickets and other expenses, they had agreed to settle the remainder of the agreed rates once they passed the examination,” said District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram City) C.H. Nagaraju.
The sleuths have also focussed their efforts on nabbing a few ‘subject experts’, including two DRDO employees based in Haryana, who allegedly provided the answers to the impersonators during the examinations from remote locations.
