GUWAHATI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) headquarters in New Delhi will probe into the “fraudulent means” allegedly adopted by a Guwahati student to qualify JEE (Mains) with a percentile of 99.8. Police, however, have ruled out the possibility of loopholes in the online system of answering questions in the coveted engineering entrance test.
On Wednesday, Neel Nakshtra Das, the candidate in question, and his doctor father were arrested along with three others in connection with the crime. Neel allegedly used a proxy candidate to clear the exam which was held in September.
Though officials from the state roped in by the NTA for conducting the exam in the city centre have not been involved in the verification yet, sources said the headquarters of the testing agency may keep those officials out of loop of the process and probe along with Assam Police for an impartial inquiry.
“Considering the various layers of checking before entering the exam centre and jammer technology disconnecting the lines of genuine candidates from all kinds of online networks, it is impossible for a proxy candidate to answer on behalf of a genuine candidate from a different location. Loopholes must have been within the concerned centre which is under the scanner,” a source in the NTA said.
According to the source, whether all computer systems in the exam centre located in Borjhar area of the city were disconnected during the exam time is yet to be ascertained. Several computers are said to be controlled by one jammer as the E-Com tower, where the exam centre was located, has a large number of computers run by the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
“Technically, even if one computer in the building is left out of the purview of the jammers and the proxy candidate is allowed to answer the paper, it is possible to hoodwink the exam officials,” the source said.
“Computers are controlled by TCS even as officials engaged by NTA are entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the exams smoothly. Access inside the JEE exam halls is highly controlled. Even the NTA-engaged officials can not enter without valid identity cards. Someone may be kept inside in advance,” added the NTA source. The source added that even usage of face masks might have helped in hiding the identity of the proxy candidate.
Talking to TOI on Thursday, Guwahati police commissioner MP Gupta said, “People who were running the centre are under the scanner of police. Three of the arrested are from that exam centre only. Two of the arrested persons are employees of TCS and one from E-Com tower. We are yet to identify the proxy candidate.”
In the meanwhile, a four-member special investigating team (SIT), headed by ADCP (West) Suprative Lal Baruah, has been constituted by DCP of Guwahati West Police District for speedy investigation into the case.