BAJAJ Nagar Police team busted a racket involving hi-tech gadgets and dummy candidates to solve question papers for various competitive examinations for Government jobs. In this case in which the accused appear to have drawn a leaf out of popular movie ‘Munnabhai MBBS’, albeit with use of hi-tech gadgets, the cops have booked six persons including a clerk with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Aurangabad, and have arrested two of them. The six persons booked in this connection include Indrajit Borkar (29) and his father Keshav Borkar (60), natives of Waghapur in Yavatmal and currently residing in Ambedkar Nagar, Nagpur; Hansraj Mohan Rathod (62), a resident of Digras;, Premsingh Ramsingh Rajput (29), a resident of Plot No 41, Jadhav Wadi, Raje Sambhaji Colony, Aurangabad; Pratapsingh Dhondiram Dulhat (25), a resident of Pardesiwadi, Khandari Khurd, Badnapur in Jalna district; and Punamsingh Harsingh Sundarde (34), a resident of Aurangabad. They have been booked under Sections 419, 420, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.

 

Noorul Hasan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I), and Varsha Deshmukh, Police Inspector (Crime), addressed a press conference in this regard at Bajaj Nagar Police Station on Thursday. Hasan told mediapersons that Premsingh Rajput was the kingpin and Pratapsingh Dulhat was dummy candidate in the instant case. On February 23, 2020, examination for the posts of Junior Clerk and Deputy Accounts Inspector were conducted through State’s Department of Co-operation, Marketing, and Textiles. Dr Ambedkar College, Deekshabhoomi, also was a centre. One of the accused Indrajit Borkar was a candidate for the exam. He topped the examination with score of 178 out of 200 marks. On March 11, 2020, the department called him for scrutiny of the original documents.

 

“When he appeared, the department officials noticed difference between his signature and the signature on the attendance sheet for the examination. The department then checked the video footage of the examination hall, and found that someone else had appeared as Indrajit Borkar for the examination,” said Noorul Hasan. When the department questioned him about this, Borkar admitted that he had not solved the paper. Following this, Raju Dattu Birle, an official of Divisional Joint Registrar for Co-operative Societies (Audit) at Nagpur, lodged a complaint with Bajaj Nagar Police Station. The cops arrested Indrajit Borkar on March 12, 2020. During investigation, it came to fore that Indrajit’s father knew one Hansraj Rathod through whom dummy candidate appeared in his place in the examination. Rathod was arrested on March 13, 2020. Rathod told cops that dummy candidate was arranged through Premsingh Rajput, who was serving as Clerk with NHAI at Aurangabad.

 

However, Rajput went absconding. Later, Rajput and Keshav Borkar both got anticipatory bail from the Sessions Court. The investigation got delayed later on. Under the guidance of Noorul Hasan and Mahesh Chavan, Senior Police Inspector, Varsha Deshmukh resumed the investigation with the help of Vaibhav Yadav, Police Constable. Making good use of technology and contacting mobile service provider, the cops found that Pratapsingh Dulhat was the dummy candidate. The cops searched for him at Jalna and Aurangabad, but in vain. Finally, on February 28, 2021, Bajaj Nagar Police team was successful in nabbing Dulhat at Aurangabad while he was going to appear for another examination.

 

Dulhat told cops about Punamsingh Sundarde, who used to sit outside examination hall and answer the questions with the help of computer tab. The cops arrested Sundarde too. “We have collected all the technical evidence, and have seized cellphones, tiny earpiece bluetooth device, computer tab etc from the accused,” said Hasan. Asked as to how did the accused procure such high-end devices, he replied that it was being investigated. To another question, he said that devices could be procured even from various websites. The entire investigation was guided by Amitesh Kumar, Commissioner of Police; and Dilip Zalke, Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region). 

 

 

 

The dummy candidate, Pratapsingh Dulhat, carried a Samsung mobile phone with ‘spycamera’ application installed in it. He used to hide the cellphone in the clothes he wore. He used to wear a shirt and a jerkin over the t-shirt. The coloured t-shirt had a button-hole through which cellphone camera could click pictures of the question paper. The photographs were automatically sent to a computer tab of i-Ball company, which was operated by another person Punamsingh Sundarde, or emailed to another device. The person operating the tab or another device used to find answers to questions. The answers were dictated to the dummy candidate, who could listen to those through a tiny earpiece bluetooth device. The bluetooth device was so tiny that it could be hidden in ear. The dummy candidate used to write answers, and those who paid money to the racket used to pass in the examination.