ETT recruitment exam: Two women with same roll number booked for cheating in Ludhiana

The accused are cousins

Two women were booked for cheating and personation on Sunday after they attempted to appear for the elementary training teachers (ETT) recruitment exam using the same roll number.

Candidates leaving the examination centre after appearing for the ETT recruitment test at Government School, PAU, in Ludhiana on Sunday. (Harsimar Pal Singh/HT)

The accused have been identified as Kiran Rani, a resident of Jalalbad, and Asha Rani of Faridkot. They are cousins.

The incident was reported from Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious students, near Rose Garden, where the exam was being conducted for 301 candidates.

The exam started at 10am. The school authorities said that a candidate, Kiran Rani, reported at 10.10 am, and she had the same roll number as another candidate with the same name.

The invigilator checked the roll number and Aadhar cards of both students and took them to the school principal to resolve the matter. They contacted the Guru Nanak Dev University officials and were told to let both applicants appear for the test.

District education officer, secondary, Swaranjit Kaur, was inspecting the centre at 10.30am. When she was told about the incident, she informed the state education department, who directed the officials to get a FIR lodged against the two women.

Jarnail Singh, station house officer at Division Number 8 police station, said, “We have asked both candidates to join the investigation.”

As many as 3,238 candidates appeared for the ETT recruitment examination at 11 centres in the city. A total of 3,629 candidates had applied.

DEO Swaranjit Kaur inspected three centres- Government Senior Secondary School, Multipurpose; Government Senior Secondary School, Sekhewal, and Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students.

Thermal screening was done at all the examination centres and foot-operated hand sanitiser dispensers were installed at the entry gates.

Several candidates reached the examination centres with their mobile phones and were not allowed to carry them inside the examination rooms.

A candidate, Jaswant Singh, said, “I was not aware that candidates cannot carry mobile phones. When I requested the school principal, he refused to keep mobile phone in his custody. Then, I handed it over to the police who were deputed outside the centre.”