Hoaxer wanted to expose rot in system

Majid Jahangir & Bismah Malik

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 3

Even as the Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered a probe, the person who registered a “brown cow” to appear in the entrance test for polytechnics says his intention was apolitical and he wanted to expose the “rot in the non-serious system”.

With mastery over suggesting names, 52-year businessman Abdul Rashid Bhat is known by the unique name Barg-e-gul (flower petal). He created Kachir Gaw (brown cow) and her father Hore Dand (red bull) to register for the entrance examination scheduled next week.

“I did the entire thing to show the authorities how the examination body which conducts prestigious exams in the state can be taken for a ride,” said Bhat, a resident of Dualatpora at Chadoora in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. The Tribune tracked Bhat the day after the incident came to light.

Bhat owns a printing outlet fitted with xerox machines at Chadoora. He became a subject of conversation in the area after people came to know that BOPEE has issued a provisional admit card in the name of a cow and he was the person who had registered the animal online.

He distanced himself from politics over the issue between the Peoples Democratic Party and the National Conference (NC). NC’s chief spokesman Junaid Mattu was the first to highlight the prank and it grabbed attention when former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah commented on it through his Twitter messages.

“My aim was simple. I wanted to expose the system and was successful in it. I have no interest in politics being made out of the issue,” he said. The idea came to Bhat in March this year when he saw dozens of boys and girls queuing up outside his shop to fill in the online form for the common entrance test.

“When I went through the brochure of BOPEE, I got an idea that the system asking aspirants to fill in the form was not foolproof. In national exams, there is a system and chances of taking the system for a ride are minimum,” he said.

“I made up my mind and filled in the form online. A slip was generated and I deposited Rs 500 as fee in a local bank. I have now shown that the system has many loopholes, which is not good for our future,” he further said.

Bhat said there were checks at various levels even as aspirants submitted forms online for various tests at the national level. “I wish that BOPEE ensures that loopholes do not happen again,” he added.

BOPEE Chairman Ghulam Hassan Tantary said they had asked the Deputy Secretary for Law to inquire into the matter. “The inquiry officer will look into the matter and suggest remedies to ensure that the system is made foolproof,” Tantary said.