Navodaya schools recruitment: Candidates paid up to ₹18 lakh, took help of impersonators, hidden devices

During preliminary questioning, kingpin Rakhi revealed that she and other impersonators entered the exam centre, not to appear for the paper, but to smuggle in electronic devices. She used the device, concealed in her dress, to scan the question paper and transmit it to her associates stationed outside the school. These associates solved the paper real-time and relayed the answers to candidates inside through Bluetooth-enabled devices.

A day after 17 persons were caught for cheating in the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) recruitment exam held on Sunday, investigators revealed that the candidates had paid anywhere between ₹10 lakh to ₹18 lakh to secure exam success.

Two impersonators were caught at the entrance itself after a biometric mismatch. The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti exam for non-teaching posts was held across the country to fill 1,377 posts. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The main accused was identified as Rakhi, who runs a private institute in Jind, Haryana. Investigators believe that it was from this centre that the scam stemmed.

During preliminary questioning, Rakhi revealed that she and other impersonators entered the exam centre, not to appear for the paper, but to smuggle in electronic devices. She used the device, concealed in her dress, to scan the question paper and transmit it to her associates stationed outside the school. These associates solved the paper real-time and relayed the answers to candidates inside through Bluetooth-enabled devices.

But as luck would have it, the invigilators noticed some candidates fiddling with what appeared to be hidden devices and ultimately caught them red-handed. After this, they alerted the police and disrupted the Bluetooth connections. Sensing the bust, the suspects outside the centre fled the scene. Those inside were, however, nabbed.

Two impersonators —Ajay Kumar and Monika Devi appearing on behalf of genuine candidates Vikram and Pooja at Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary Model School, Sector 27 – were caught at the entrance itself after a biometric mismatch. The NVS exam for non-teaching posts was held across the country to fill 1,377 posts.