Two Haryana natives arrested for allegedly cheating during VSSC exam in Kerala

Two persons hailing from Haryana were arrested on Sunday in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram on charges of cheating during a technical exam of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

The accused, identified as Sunil Kumar and Sumit Kumar, both natives of Hisar in Haryana, were arrested by Museum police and Medical College police on Sunday around 2.30pm, for appearing in the written exam at different centres in the city.

The accused were nabbed for allegedly using electronic devices to write the papers after police officials received a tip-off. Based on the information, police personnel stationed at various examination centres in Thiruvananthapuram where the examination was being conducted were alerted. Officials from two centres, namely Cotton Hill School and St Mary's School, called up the police to inform them about the possible misconduct. 

The duo were arrested for cheating in the Technician B Category exams of VSSC. Police have seized electronic devices from the accused, including a Sony mobile phone. 

As a part of their modus operandi, a belt was tied around their stomach and a mobile phone was attached to it before the accused went into the examination hall. The camera of the mobile phone was glued to the buttonhole of the shirt. The accused allegedly switched on the camera and entered the exam hall. The question paper was held straight to the camera attached and the video of the question paper was shown to another person sitting at an anonymous place. After scanning the questions, the answers were read out by a team through a Bluetooth earphone hidden inside the ear, helping the accused write the paper at the exam centre.

Police have registered two separate FIRs in Museum police station and Medical College police station in Thiruvananthapuram under sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and criminal breach of trust. Meanwhile, a police source, on condition of anonymity, stated that police are also looking into the possibility of a big racket operating behind it.