Bluetooth Devices, Pen Cameras Used During Pharmacy Officer Exam: Punjab Police Bust High-Tech Cheating Syndicate
Chandigarh: Punjab Police has busted a sophisticated interstate cheating racket operating during the Pharmacy Officer Recruitment Examination conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) on behalf of the Punjab Health and Family Welfare Department. In a coordinated operation, police detained 35 people, including 28 candidates and seven alleged masterminds, while recovering 27 battery-operated wireless devices, pen cameras and other concealed electronic gadgets allegedly used to facilitate cheating.
The written examination, conducted to recruit 454 Pharmacy Officers, was held across examination centres in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Ferozepur, with nearly 5,000 candidates appearing for the 90-mark written test. Acting on specific intelligence received by the State Counter Intelligence (CI) wing around 12:30 pm, police teams from the Faridkot and Ferozepur ranges, along with BFUHS authorities, secured the examination centres and launched coordinated searches, leading to the detection of candidates allegedly using sophisticated electronic devices for cheating.
During the operation, officials found candidates concealing miniature Bluetooth devices inside turbans, socks and undergarments. Police said the gadgets were used in conjunction with concealed pen cameras and a real-time dictation network to transmit answers during the examination. The recovery of identical devices from multiple candidates pointed to the involvement of an organised cheating syndicate rather than isolated incidents.
According to investigators, the racket employed a well-planned modus operandi. A candidate identified as Ayush, appearing at an examination centre in Ferozepur, allegedly used a hidden pen camera to scan the question paper between 11:10 am and 11:25 am. The images were reportedly sent via WhatsApp to an accomplice, Sajan, in Bhiwani, Haryana, who then forwarded them to Deepak, described by police as a solver operating from a makeshift control room at the residence of the alleged mastermind, Gurmeet Singh, in Society Nagar, Faridkot. Answers were subsequently relayed back to candidates through concealed wireless devices.
The exam evaluates applicants based on a 90-mark written test and 10 marks allocated for professional experience.
Police identified Gurmeet Singh, an employee of Sant Kabir Polytechnic College, Fazilka, as the alleged mastermind and facilitator of the racket. The other alleged conspirators detained include Manjit Singh from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, Deepak, Sunil from Kotputli-Behror in Rajasthan, Satnam Singh from Guruharsahai, and Balwant Singh and Abhiyant from Haryana. Authorities told HT that the identities of the detained candidates have not been disclosed.
Officials emphasised that the operation exposed a highly sophisticated interstate examination cheating network using spy-style electronic devices to compromise recruitment examinations. The Punjab Police have launched a detailed investigation to identify additional members of the syndicate, trace the procurement and distribution of the electronic equipment, and determine whether the network was involved in similar recruitment examinations conducted elsewhere, report The Tribune.
Meanwhile, BFUHS officials clarified that there was no evidence of a question paper leak. According to various media reports, the incident was limited to candidates allegedly using concealed electronic devices during the examination, while TOI adds that the Health and Family Welfare Department has sought a detailed report from the university, following which the state government will decide the future course of action regarding the recruitment process.
The coordinated police operation successfully dismantled the organised cheating syndicate during the examination itself, preventing the alleged network from influencing the recruitment process and leading to the detention of the accused for further investigation.
