A major cheating racket has surfaced during the recruitment examination for constable posts held across Maharashtra last week. Interrogation of six suspects caught cheating during the exam has revealed links to the Sambhajinagar cheating syndicate.
According to police sources, the suspects provided critical clues indicating the involvement of a cheating mafia based in Sambhajinagar. Following these revelations, Mumbai Police teams have reached Sambhajinagar to investigate and track down members of the syndicate.
Preliminary investigations suggest the syndicate charged ₹4-5 lakh per candidate for facilitating cheating. In exchange, candidates were provided with Bluetooth devices, SIM cards, and external assistance to answer questions during the exam.
Tilak Nagar Police have arrested two individuals, Ganesh Vighane (32) and Rameshwar Wagh (24), from Beed and Sambhajinagar, respectively. The investigation revealed that the accused were caught wearing skin-colored in-ear Bluetooth devices while entering Somaiya College, one of the exam centers.
During interrogation, it was discovered that the mastermind behind the operation resides in Sambhajinagar and was present in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on the day of the exam. Police are analyzing digital data retrieved from confiscated SIM cards to identify the mastermind.
Wagh disclosed during questioning that he received the Bluetooth device from his friend Samadhan More, who, in turn, obtained it from Arjun Jarwal. Both individuals are Sambhajinagar residents. Acting on these leads, police teams are connecting the dots to uncover the full extent of the network.
The plan involved the candidates receiving a phone call once the exam started. The caller would relay answers, which the candidates could hear using their skin-colored in-ear Bluetooth devices and then write down in the answer sheets.
The arrested suspects were allegedly promised high scores in the written exam.
Notably, the recruitment exam for constable posts witnessed participation from 62,000 candidates across Maharashtra. The test was conducted at 90 centers in Mumbai alone.