PET exam: 21 solvers, candidates arrested in STF, local police crackdown across 12 districts in Uttar Pradesh
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Twenty-one alleged solvers and candidates suspected of hiring solvers were arrested by UP Special Task Force (STF) and local police teams of 12 districts during Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) 2022 written exam of the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) held on Saturday and Sunday.
While 13 people were arrested by the UP STF from different districts, eight others were arrested by the district police teams. In all, 37.58 lakh candidates registered for the exam that was held at 1899 examination centres across the state in over two days on Saturday and Sunday.
Around 12 FIRs have been registered in as many districts and 26 more people, whose names figured during primary investigation, have been made accused in the cases, police said.
Additional director general (ADG), law and order, Prashant Kumar said one case each was registered in 12 districts, including Lucknow, Unnao, Bijnor, Varanasi (rural), Shamli, Sitapur, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Ballia, Kanpur, Pilibhit and Ayodhya. He said four solvers were arrested from Shamli, three from Unnao, two each from Bijnor, Jaunpur, Ayodhya and Kanpur and one each from Varanasi (rural), Varanasi Commissionerate, Sitapur, Ballia, Pilibhit and Lucknow.
A senior STF official said five people arrested on Sunday including two each from Azamgarh and Prayagraj and one from Jaunpur. He said two people including a solver identified as Praveen Kumar Chaurasiya and a candidate Anil Kumar Yadav were arrested from Azamgarh on Sunday. During interrogation, Chaurasiya claimed Yadav hired him through an agent Mohan Paswan, for ₹60,000 to appear in the PET in his place.
The official said Chaursaiya was arrested from SVS Memorial Inter College under Hafizpur police station limits of Azamgarh and later on his tip off, Yadav was arrested from outside the examination centre. The STF official said further raids are on in search of Paswan.
The official said two other accused identified as Saman Kumar and Suresh Kumar Yadav were arrested from Divabha Inter College in Allapur of Prayagraj district. He said Kumar is a solver while Yadav is an agent, who hired Kumar to appear in the exam in place of one Rahul for ₹20,000. He said further efforts are on to arrest the candidate.
He said one solver cum gang leader of a solvers’ gang identified as Jitendra Singh was arrested from Janta Janaradan Inter College of Jaunpur district. The STF official said Singh revealed that he was appearing in the exam in place of one Anil Kumar Patel for ₹50,000. Singh told STF that he had his gang provides solvers to candidates appearing in different exams in return of money. He said further efforts are on in search of Patel and other people whose names have surfaced in interrogation with Singh.
Earlier on Saturday, the STF arrested eight proxy candidates, including three from Unnao, two each in Jaunpur and Kanpur, and one from Ayodhya.
