Sunday, 09 April 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Special Task Force (STF) nabbed two men allegedly conspiring to facilitate malpractice during the forest guard recruitment examination to be held on Sunday. The STF has also identified three candidates who were planning to use the help of the two accused to indulge in unfair means in the examination.
According to officials, the STF received confidential information that an attempt is being made in Haridwar district to enable some candidates to indulge in malpractices in the forest guard recruitment examination to be held on Sunday in return for money. The informants were activated and it was ascertained that MS Coaching Centre operator Mukesh Saini is the person allegedly trying to facilitate malpractices in the examination. He had been jailed for the similar offence on various occasions in the past and is notorious for facilitating malpractices in examinations. The STF raided the coaching centre at Gurukul Narsen area and arrested Saini and his associate Rachit Pundir. Items to be used to facilitate the malpractice in the examination were recovered from the accused and a case was registered against them in the Manglaur police station in Haridwar district.
According to the STF, Saini has been jailed many times in the past for facilitating malpractices in examinations and is notorious in the region. The candidates interested in using unfair means to pass examinations are reportedly in constant touch with him. Officials said that he had facilitated copying on a large scale in the forest guard examination held in February 2020 but by reaching an agreement with the candidates later he was able to escape a case. This boosted his confidence to indulge in the malpractices. This time too he planned with Pundir to facilitate malpractices in the forest guard examination as he had done in the past. A rate of about Rs four lakh per candidate for 15 candidates was fixed and a sum ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh was taken as advance. Some candidates were given a Bluetooth device for copying in the examination and they were also taught how to use it. Pundir is an assistant professor in a college in Haridwar and has been jailed in the past for aiding Saini in facilitating malpractice during examination. He had prepared to get himself allotted to the duty of a class room inspector at an examination centre for the forest guard centre. It was planned that Pundir would use WhatsApp and other means to communicate the question paper to Saini who would then solve the paper himself with the help of his friends. They had planned to then call the candidates who had paid them and communicate the answers to them. In addition to arresting the two accused, the STF have also identified three candidates who were to use the help of the accused in passing the paper. The other candidates who may have approached the duo are being identified by the STF.
