UP STF nabs 51 ahead of Asst teachers' written exams

The Special Task Force (STF) Uttar Pradesh has arrested as many as 51 persons allegedly involved in rigging Assistant Teacher (LT Grade) written examination, conducted by the UP Public Service Commission on Sunday across state.

About 7.63 lakh candidates appeared written examination for 10,876 vacant posts of Assiatnt Teachers in LT Grade. The exams were held on Sunday at 1670 centres in 39 districts of the state.

On a tip off, the STF nabbed 12 persons including the gang mastermind Om Sahay and six solvers, from Colonelganj in Allahabad on the eve of the exams. “He used to charge Rs 2 lakh each from candidates for solving the written papers. The arrested person had called about half a dozen solvers from Bihar to rig the examinations,” said Amitabh Yash, the IG STF.

On information provided by him during interrogation, the STF arrested as many as 51 persons from Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Mathura. “As many as 20 candidates had paid him Rs 2 lakh each for solving question papers. One solver was caught red-handed giving exam for a candidate at a centre in Kanpur,” said the IG.

Ahout 13 mobile phones, a dozen PAN cards, 6 ATM cards, two AAdhar cards several admit cards of candidates and about Rs 15,000 cash were recovered from the possession of the gang mastermind.

Since there were no CCTVs at centres and biometric attendance, the gang mastermind used to replace photographs on admit cards for facilitating solvers to appear in the exams on behalf of the candidates who paid Rs 2 lakhs.

“A case has been registered against the arrested persons at different police stations in Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad and Mathura.