A candidate who attempted to appear for the CET-2025 exam at the last minute was identified as an impersonator through a QR code-based facial recognition app on Thursday. The incident took place at the Silver Valley Public PU College exam center in Malleswaram, and authorities have ordered an investigation into the incident.
A woman named Tuba Fathima Jameel arrived in the morning to write the mathematics paper. Upon arrival, she headed straight to the restroom and remained there for nearly an hour. Just as the exam was about to begin, she came out and attempted to enter the hall by showing an admit card with a QR code.
However, when her photo was captured and verified through the facial recognition app, it revealed that she was not the genuine candidate. Before the authorities could bring this to the principal’s attention, the woman fled the scene, according to a statement issued by H. Prasanna, Executive Director, Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).
It was later discovered that she had affixed her photo onto the admit card belonging to the actual candidate, Tabu Naz. She had also entered incorrect exam dates. The college principal has been instructed to submit a detailed report along with video footage of the incident. Legal action will follow, Mr. Prasanna added.
The new facial recognition system introduced by KEA to detect impersonators has proven to be effective. On the second day of its implementation, all verifications were successfully carried out using the app, with no technical glitches reported.
Mr. Prasanna, along with Administrative Officer Islauvuddin Gadyal, visited the Government PU College exam center in Malleswaram. They verified candidates using the QR code-based facial recognition app developed by KEA, expressing satisfaction over its performance. The officers scanned QR codes, captured candidate photos, and verified their identity on the spot. This is the first time KEA has implemented such a system.
Out of a total of 3,30,808 candidates, 3,04,186 (91.95%) wrote the mathematics exam and 2,39,848 (90.90%) out of 2,63,867 candidates wrote the life science exam, held on Thursday. Mr. Prasanna said that considering both days, 92.93% of the candidates appeared for the two-day CET-2025.
Published - April 17, 2025 09:52 pm IST
