'hi-tech cheating' in Rajasthan Police entrance exam
Jaipur: The Rajasthan Police Constable Entrance Examination 2018 held recently was cancelled on Tuesday following reports of "hi-tech cheating" during the test, a senior official said.
The decision was at a high-level meeting -- chaired by Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Galhotra -- that was attended by several senior officials including Umesh Mishra, Assistant Director General (ADG) - Special Operations Group (SOG), and ADG (Headquarters) Rajiv Sharma, among others.
The entrance examination was the first leg of the process to recruit 5,290 constables in Rajasthan.
The online examination, held first time in the state for police recruitments, had commenced on March 7. But on March 12 and 14, cases of computer hacking were reported. The police also got information about an organised racket indulging in cloning of biometric identity.
According to reports, they even provided expert proxy examination solvers to answer the papers on behalf of real candidates.
An investigation was launched and 12 persons were initially rounded up. Later, as the probe progressed, more names surfaced. Till now, 27 persons have been arrested by the SOG over the hi-tech fraud.
Around 15 out of those arrested are highly-skilled IT professionals, and have in the past facilitated similar cheating in states like Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, among others.
According to Inspector General of Police (IG) Dinesh M.N., accused Atul Vatsa is a B.Tech student who adopted similar technique during a National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) in Delhi and was arrested by the police. He also has a case registered against him in Bihar.
Similarly, his accomplice Yogendra is an MBBS student in a Rohtak college, while Sandeep Kumar, their third helping hand, is preparing for his bank exams in Delhi.
The accused said they learnt the art of making thumb-print clone on youtube. "It taught us how to use fish oil, wax and fevicol to make this clone," one of the accused said. They would apply fish oil on applicant's thumb, put it on warm and soft wax and apply a film of fevicol on reverse finger print to obtain the clone after the fevicol dried.
The expert proxies used the cloned fingerprints to appear for exams. The cloned thumb-print was smartly affixed onto the thumb of the expert proxy examination writer. He could walk into the centre and sit in the examination on behalf of the applicant.
Informed sources said offline entrance examination would most likely replace the online model.
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Adequate LPG stock in Chhattisgarh, no need to panic, says CM Sai
Raipur (PTI): Amid reports of shortage of commercial LPG cylinder in several parts of the country due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday assured people that they need not worry about the availability of cooking gas in the state.
He asserted that adequate stock of LPG as well as petrol and diesel was available in the state.
Sai said in a statement that authorities have been directed to regularly monitor stock at gas agencies and keep a close watch on the supply chain. Necessary instructions were issued to officials in all districts to ensure a smooth supply of LPG.
The chief minister instructed officials to take strict action if any complaint of black marketing or hoarding of LPG cylinders is received.
Sai urged state residents not to pay attention to rumours and to book cooking gas cylinders as per their actual requirement.
The government was fully alert to ensure the availability of essential commodities to citizens, he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Hotel and Restaurant Association has issued an advisory to hotels, restaurants, caterers and other food businesses across the state, urging them to maintain calm and avoid panic buying.
In the advisory, Taranjeet Singh Hora, president of the association, asked members to maintain coordination and immediately inform it about any major disruption in LPG supply.
He cautioned businesses against hoarding cylinders, saying such practices could worsen the situation for the entire hospitality sector.
The association advised hotels and restaurants to prioritise essential kitchen operations, core menu items and already committed banquet events.
Use electric cooking equipment wherever possible for emergency and staff kitchens such as induction cooktops, electric hot plates, electric rice cookers and kettles, the advisory stated.
