Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) An elaborate plan to leak the question paper for the post-graduate entrance test to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was busted with the arrest in the capital of five people, including a doctor, police said Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ashok Chand said the arrests were made from Delhi and Noida Sunday. Those arrested include an MBBS graduate, an MBBS student and two MBA graduates, including one from Jamia.

“The mastermind of the gang, Mohit Choudhary, a second year MBBS student, was caught red handed with photo copies of the entrance test papers Sunday in the national capital. It was a racket to leak the question papers of the post-graduate medical exam organised by AIIMS,” Chand said.

According to police, Choudhary, 23, resident of Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh) co-ordinated the whole racket. He was a second year MBBS student from Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh). The other gang members were Kapil Kumar, 27, MBA graduate from Jamia Milia and Krishan Pratap Singh, 27, MA in public administration from Jamia Milia and MBA from IMT Meerut.

Bhishma Singh, 27, who was operating computers in a rented accommodation in Noida, helped them in the racket, while Amit Punia, who did his MBBS from PGI Rohtak, was also part of the gang. Punia appeared in the exam along with the two MBA students posing as medical students.

“The gang was very well organised. They hired two MBA students and one MBBS graduate in the exam organised Sunday. They used high-end mobile phones Sony Xperia and Nokia Lumina to scan the question paper. Using blue tooth and earphones, the scanned copy of the papers were sent to an email id. One of the gang members Bhisham Singh, who was working in a computer operating room in Noida, provided photocopy of the papers to Choudhary,” the police official said.

As soon as Punia and the two MBA graduates received the question paper at the exam venue, they clicked a photograph of it and emailed it through blue tooth and earphone. “For this purpose they used high-end mobile phones,” added Chand.

Mobile phones are not allowed inside examination halls, but due to “improper frisking” at the exam venue the three managed to take their phones in, the official said.

“The gang was to collect around Rs.20 to Rs.30 lakh from each student,” the official added.

Choudhary was to get the solved answers and send them via SMS to the students who had given money for the answers.

The all-India post graduate medical entrance examination was conducted by AIIMS around 10 a.m. Sunday for screening of the 50 percent post graduate seats in the government colleges across the country.

The exam was conducted at 156 centres and 70,000 candidates appeared for the exam.

“Following a tip-off, Choudhary was arrested from Pragati Maidan in Delhi around 10.30 a.m. Sunday with the photocopies of the entrance papers and six medical books. Kapil, Krishan and Punia were arrested from sector-28 in Noida from one of the exam centres. Bhisham was also arrested from Noida,” the official said.

“Choudhary was apprehended with photograph of the 23-page question booklet,” Ashok Chand, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) said.

Chand said within 30 minutes of the beginning of the exam, the question paper was emailed out. “Chaudhury allegedly downloaded the images with the help of Bhisham Singh. He was on way to meet his associates to solve the paper when he was apprehended by police at Pragati Maidan,” added Chand.

“The candidates were to receive the answers through mobile phones. They had minute ear phones fixed along with blue tooth concealed in the shirt.

Chand said in order to ensure that the candidates pay the promised amount, the gang took in their possession the original certificates of the candidates. There are five-six more candidates who had taken the help of the gang.

A police team went to AIIMS where they talled the original question paper with that with Chaudhury and it was found to be the same.

Chand said it was Choudhury who arranged the candidates for the exam. Kapil Kumar, who did MBA from Jamia Millia Islamia, was planning to do a PhD from a reputed institute.

“An inquiry is on into the matter,” the official said, adding that no AIIMS official was involved in the racket.