Gang members talented, could have bagged govt jobs: Police
NEW DELHI: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) cheating racket that was busted on Tuesday had allegedly begun in 2011.
Incidentally, 2011 was also the year when 31-year-old Sonu Kumar, one of the arrested accused, had left his home in Ghaziabad for Delhi where he would prepare for competitive examinations.
Over the next one year, he cracked the Delhi Police’s entrance exam for sub-inspectors, but allegedly chose to let go of the opportunity to start the exam cheating racket, said an investigator.
“Sonu knew he could earn much more through the racket than he would through an honest government job. Today, he owns multiple expensive cars,” said the officer. Tuesday’s raid led to the recovery of ₹51.8 lakh in cash from the suspects who were allegedly charging Rs 5-10 lakh from each candidate.
“Sonu is married to a Delhi Police constable, but we do not know if she knew about the racket,” said Brijesh Singh, deputy superintendent of police (Uttar Pradesh-special task force).
The other arrested men have
ANOTHER POLICE OFFICER
been identified as Paramjeet Singh, a 24-year-old computer graduate, Ajay Kumar, a 30-year-old MA in Hindi and 24-year-old Gaurav Nayyar, a bachelor in computer applications.
Police said the gang was wellorganised and members were divided into small groups and given a specific role.
“One group would scout for potential candidates, another would manage the exam centres and the third would handle technical issues. But when it came to solving the exam answers at the main hour, they would all join hands,” said an investigator.
Though Harpal has been identified as the kingpin because he allegedly provided the infrastructure for the crime, Sonu was the most active in the racket. “Sonu did not have to scout for candidates. He was so well known in the exam and job aspirants would approach him,” said the officer.
The gang initially started by sending dummy candidates for written exams. But as technology took over, they “adapted” and started using the present method of cheating. “They returned the money if they failed to get a candidate through the exam,” said the officer.
Police suspect the gang included many more members who are yet to be identified.
“Most members of this gang are competent to get a government job, but the lure of easy money kept them involved in the crime,” said an officer.
Abhishek Singh, senior superintendent of police (UP-STF), said the investigators had probing cheatings in UP Board and UP sub-inspector’s exams when they got to know of Sonu’s involvement in similar crimes.
They had then been on his trail for days before making the final swoop on Tuesday.