Punjab Police recently dismantled an interstate cheating operation linked to the BFUHS pharmacy exam. Education Minister Harjot Bains described it as a sophisticated, technology-driven scheme rather than a paper leak.
In a recent development, the Punjab Police cracked an interstate cheating racket allegedly operating from Haryana’s Bhiwani district and detained 35 people, including 10 handlers and 25 candidates, in connection with cheating that unfolded during the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) pharmacy examination, as reported by PTI.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that the probe revealed the case is a ‘highly organised, technology-driven cheating racket’ rather than a paper leak.
He added that the state police had exposed the network that purportedly used sophisticated electronic devices to facilitate cheating.
Bhiwani Mastermind Behind Organised Cheating Racket: Minister Bains
He further claimed that a Bhiwani-based mastermind was handling the syndicate while criticising the Haryana government for allegedly failing to curb systematic examination fraud.
Bains further said that the Bhagwant Mann government “would not allow anyone to defame Punjab’s education system,” according to the news agency.
He said the accused allegedly used modified Kechaoda K33 mobile phones, hidden wireless earpieces, and other advanced gadgets to communicate answers to candidates during the examination.
According to Bains, the network had been operating from Haryana before attempting to penetrate Punjab.
Stressing the state government’s educational reforms, he said that Punjab’s performance in competitive examination results had significantly improved, adding that 361 students qualified for JEE (Main), 64 cleared JEE (Advanced), and 882 students qualified for NEET in 2026.
Bains told PTI that the School Education Department was mulling over the utilisation of blockchain technology to make exams more secure and leak-proof.
Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) Nilambri Jagdale said the operation was carried out collaboratively by the Counter Intelligence wing and police teams from the Faridkot and Ferozepur ranges after receiving intelligence inputs on July 19 about a gang planning to assist cheating in the BFUHS pharmacy examination.
She said that police busted a house in Society Nagar, Faridkot, that had purportedly been converted into a control room equipped with wireless transmitters, modified mobile phones, and communication devices.
According to the IGP, the investigating officers identified 13 handlers, including eight from Haryana and Rajasthan and five from Punjab. She added that, till now, 10 handlers and 25 candidates have been arrested, while three handlers and four candidates are on the run.
Detailing how the cheating unfolded, Jagdale said that the probe ascertained that a candidate from Bhiwani district allegedly captured images of the question paper using a spy camera shortly after the exam commenced.
Following this, the images were allegedly sent to a Bhiwani-based handler, who solved the paper and communicated the responses to the Faridkot control room.
From there, handlers allegedly dictated the answers to candidates inside examination centres through concealed wireless devices.
200 Police Personnel Deployed at Centres After Intelligence Inputs
She informed that as many as 200 police personnel were deployed at examination centres following the receipt of intelligence inputs.
An alert was sent to supervisors, controllers, and observers to conduct thorough frisking of candidates.
The police recovered 38 modified Kechaoda mobile phones, including 25 from candidates and 13 from handlers, along with 21 concealed wireless earpieces and two vehicles allegedly used in the operation.
Clarifying whether officials were involved in the case, the IGP said that no government employee, examination official, or centre supervisor had been found to have facilitated cheating.
She restated that the probe had found ‘no evidence of a paper leak’ and that the cheating network operated entirely from outside the examination system using advanced technology.
Further, she informed that raids were underway in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to detain the absconders, and that the state police had adopted a zero-tolerance policy against systematic cheating and would take stringent action against the perpetrators.
Source: Times Now
