Jaipur: A day after busting a gang involved in cheating by cloning thumbprints of candidates appearing for police recruitment exam, sleuths of the special operations group (
SOG) arrested the mastermind of the gang. The arrested has been identified as Jitendra Singh alias Jeetu.
The gang had cloned thumbprints of candidates and sent proxy ones to take the exam. However, SOG officials refuted reports that the security of Aadhaar was compromised in the incident.
The SOG team had received specific inputs on some culprits sending proxy candidates to appear for the constable recruitment exam by cloning thumbprints to manipulate the biometric attendance system.
“Our attendance system verifies the thumb impression of the original candidate at the time of online test. It is verified again when a candidate appears for the physical exam. It is not attached to UIDAI,” said inspector general (IG) Sanjib Narjari at Rajasthan police headquarters on Friday.
On the arrests on Friday, IG Dinesh M N said, “We have arrested Jitendra Singh alias Jeetu, the kingpin of the gang, who used some people as proxies by cloning thumbprints of original candidates to appear for the exam.”
Another person, Shishupal, of the gang was also arrested. “So far, interrogation suggested that they duplicated the thumb impression of the original candidate using some transparent material, which was used by proxy candidates by adding some kind of oil,” Dinesh added.
Box: SOG to lodge FIR against 25 candidates
Investigations into three cases related to cheating in the police constable recruitment exam found that 25 candidates were beneficiaries of the crime. “We will lodge cases against them at various police stations in the city. We will write to the examination authorities to debar them from the exam,” said inspector general Dinesh M N.
The SOG has so far arrested 21 candidates involved in cheating at Saraswati Infotech and Dolphin exam centres.
Meanwhile, senior officers at the Rajasthan police headquarters said that the candidates appearing for the exam were asked to carry at least one identity card—voter ID, Aadhaar, driving licence or passport. “Our biometric machine is not linked to Aadhaar,” said IG Sanjib Narzari.
