Karnataka police Friday registered a case in opposition to a candidate who obtained 63rd rank within the controversial police sub-inspector (PSI) examination held on October 3, 2021, unearthing a recent dishonest case within the examination utilizing Bluetooth gadgets.
The Felony Investigation Division (CID) discovered that Shrimant Satapur – who secured a complete of 144 marks out of 200 (16/50 within the essay examination and 127.5/150 within the a number of alternative examination) was utilizing his cellphone for prolonged intervals whereas writing each the essay and a number of alternative exams, officers mentioned.
The police have arrested Satapur, and are prone to title the others concerned within the rip-off within the new case. The candidate is alleged to have taken a Bluetooth machine to the examination corridor and acquired distant help in answering questions by way of an ‘answering staff’ of an examination mafia concerned within the PSI examination rip-off, police mentioned.
An FIR has been registered in opposition to Satapur on fees of dishonest and prison conspiracy.
In keeping with police, the brand new growth got here in the course of the evaluation of cellphone information utilization on the day of the examination from the cellular towers close to the St Joseph’s Excessive College, which was an examination centre, in Dharwad.
The CID sleuths anlaysed cell tower dump information together with the information supplied by varied telecom service suppliers concerning the cell numbers that have been in use on October 3, 2021.
They discovered {that a} cellphone quantity registered within the title of Shrimant Satapur was energetic at a cell tower close to the college and the decision data from the service supplier have revealed that the candidate’s cellphone quantity acquired 4 calls in the course of the essay examination – for durations starting from 4 seconds to 1,568 seconds – from the variety of ‘an aide’.
The essay half was held between 11 am and 12.30 pm on October 3.
Throughout the goal part, held between 3 pm and 4.30 pm, Satapur allegedly acquired 5 calls starting from 5 seconds to 1,073 seconds from his affiliate, recognized as Siddappa Mareppa, police mentioned.
“Two of the telephones that have been used to speak with Satapur in the course of the examination on October 3, 2021, have been discovered to have been utilized by two individuals from Afzalpur in Kalaburagi based on the IMEI quantity linked information for utilization of the telephones. A contractor from Afzalpur with political connections, R D Patil, is taken into account to be the kingpin behind the examination rip-off,” said the brand new FIR.
A contractor from Afzalpur with political connections, R D Patil, is taken into account to be the kingpin behind the utilization of Bluetooth gadgets within the PSI recruitment examination.
The examination was held for the recruitment of 545 police sub-inspectors.
Earlier in August, the evaluation of cellphone utilization information from cell towers overlaying three faculties which served as examination centres for PSI recruitment in Kalaburagi metropolis unraveled the identities of seven candidates who cheated within the examination by receiving solutions for questions by way of Bluetooth gadgets they smuggled into the examination halls.
The CID has already arrested 50 of the 545 chosen candidates for dishonest within the examination by varied means.
Earlier, the CID analysed cellphone utilization information from the towers close to the Sri Sharanabasaveshwar School of Arts, Science and Commerce in Vidyanagar in Kalaburagi, the Godutayi School for Girls at Vidyanagar, and the Authorities Diploma School on Sedam Street. They discovered cell numbers that have been energetic for lengthy intervals between 3 pm and 4.30 pm when the target portion of the examination was beneath method.
The evaluation revealed that candidates – Bhagavatharaya, Raviraj, Kallappa, Peerappa, Sharanbasappa, Siddugouda, and Balwantappa – have been concerned in lengthy chats with an answering staff constituted by the examination racket kingpin, R D Patil. They supplied solutions by way of Bluetooth gadgets to candidates who had paid enormous quantities to do the malpractice.
Throughout the investigation, it was discovered that the candidates who had bribed Patil within the vary of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 80 lakh have been supplied entry to members of an ‘answering staff’ constituted by Patil.
The staff members have been paired with the candidates utilizing Bluetooth gadgets supplied by Patil in the course of the examination.
The police have been capable of determine the erred candidates by discovering the names of the individuals in opposition to whom the SIM playing cards used for the lengthy conversations have been registered. Invariably, the SIM playing cards belonged to examination candidates.
The ‘answering staff’ members beforehand named by the CID within the examination rip-off are Kashinath, Shrisail, Rajashekhar, Somanath, and Mallappa.
The examination rip-off surfaced after it was discovered that one of many chosen candidates, Veeresh H, who obtained 121 marks within the examination had solely answered questions for 31.5 marks (out of a complete of 150 marks within the goal part).
Candidates who weren’t chosen approached the federal government following the information of the number of a candidate who answered solely 21 questions unfold on social media. The Karnataka authorities handed over the investigation to the CID on April 7.
The federal government annulled the outcomes of the examination on April 29 after the CID reported large-scale rigging of the outcomes.
The rip-off is alleged to have occurred at a number of ranges with seven candidates who wrote the examination within the Kalaburagi area – in a non-public faculty owned by a former BJP functionary – being assisted by faculty employees, invigilators, and others in filling the OMR sheets on the premise of reply keys given by way of Bluetooth gadgets by brokers and middlemen positioned close to examination halls.
At different facilities in Kalaburagi, the solutions have been allegedly given on to candidates by way of Bluetooth gadgets.
In Bengaluru, candidates wrote the exams at a number of centres, and their OMR sheets have been modified on the police recruitment cell, the investigations revealed.
The CID has registered as many as 20 FIRs in reference to the rip-off. The general first-rank winner Kushal Kumar J, who obtained 167.75 marks out of 200 (30.5 within the written half and 137.25 for the target half) was arrested in Bengaluru on June 8 after the Bengaluru leg of investigations revealed that his Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) reply sheet had been altered after the conclusion of the examination.
An IPS officer of the rank of extra director basic of police, Amrit Paul, who headed the police recruitment cell on the time of the rip-off was arrested on July 4. The ADGP was named within the cost sheet filed by the CID final month.
As many as 12 policemen have additionally been arrested in reference to the rip-off.