6 Haryana youths caught cheating in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre exam

Chandigarh, August 23

After arresting six Haryana youths for cheating and impersonation at a Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) recruitment test in Thiruvananthapuram, the Kerala Police today said that more arrests were likely as there were more people at the backend.

Two accused were arrested on Sunday from exam centres while two others were arrested the next day. Two more were arrested on Tuesday.

The Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram City, Nagaraju Chakilam, told The Tribune that those arrested were carrying fake ID cards and it appeared that they had cheated in the same manner in other entrance exams too. The role of coaching centres would also be probed. “The accused used a phone camera hidden inside their shirt, with the camera peeping through a modified buttonhole. They were connected over a call with subject experts and answered OMR sheets,” he said, explaining the modus operandi. “It is a rampant practice targeting exams held by many critically important public organisations, mostly lower-end jobs, Group C and D,” he added.

As the accused were speaking in Haryanvi dialect, the police were using people who could speak the language.

The VSSC had cancelled the exam on Monday. Senior Administrative Officer, Recruitment, VSSC, issued an order on August 21 that the written test of Technician-B, Draughtsman-B and Radiographer-A against advertisement no. 324 at VSSC held on August 20 at various test centres at Trivandrum had been cancelled.