LUCKNOW The Lucknow Police have busted an inter-state gang of solvers that used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate modified photos with manipulated facial features to deploy proxy candidates in the IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) Clerk Examination-2025.
“Ten members of the racket, most of them working in public sector banks, have been arrested.
They used AI-based apps such as Remini, Fotor, Mixx and ChatGPT to generate modified photos that made proxies resemble genuine candidates by up to 70%, helping them clear biometric and facial verifications at examination centres,” DCP (south) Nipun Agarwal revealed in a presser on Tuesday.
According to the police, the gang’s network extended across UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand and included both serving bank officers and aspirants seeking government jobs.
Using genuine candidates’ Aadhaar and admit card photos, the members used AI apps to fine-tune facial details, adjusting jawlines, eye shapes and skin tone to match proxy candidates’ faces. “These edited photos were then uploaded for exam verification purposes, allowing impersonators to appear in place of real aspirants,” said additional DCP (South) Vasanth Rallapalli.
The racket surfaced on October 5, when an impersonator, Abhishek Kumar from Gaya (Bihar), was caught red-handed during the IBPS Clerk exam at a Lucknow centre under Bijnor police station limits in Lucknow. “His interrogation led police to the rest of the gang and uncovered the AI-driven cheating setup,” said the DCP
{{/usCountry}}The racket surfaced on October 5, when an impersonator, Abhishek Kumar from Gaya (Bihar), was caught red-handed during the IBPS Clerk exam at a Lucknow centre under Bijnor police station limits in Lucknow. “His interrogation led police to the rest of the gang and uncovered the AI-driven cheating setup,” said the DCP
{{/usCountry}}₹50k to ₹5L charged
Among the arrested are Anand Kumar, assistant manager at UP Gramin Bank, Khurja, and Sudhanshu Kumar, a Scale-1 officer at UCO Bank. The others are students and unemployed graduates who acted as proxies. Investigators recovered 16 mobile phones, 21 ATM cards, nine Aadhaar cards, seven PAN cards, a laptop, a tablet, photographs and ₹53,000 cash from the accused.
Police said the gang charged between ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 to arrange proxies for recruitment exams and up to ₹5 lakh to help candidates secure jobs. “The amount was divided among organisers, proxy candidates and middlemen, with bank employees often acting as coordinators due to their knowledge of exam patterns and verification systems,” read a press note.
Facial details mismatch exposes racket
The breakthrough came when invigilators noticed a mismatch in facial details during biometric scanning, despite the close resemblance. When cross-checked with original application data, the fraud was exposed, said police.
“The gang’s use of AI to manipulate identity marks a dangerous new trend in exam fraud,” said the DCP, adding that they exploited technology to beat both human and system-level checks. Digital verification protocols will now be strengthened to prevent such misuse in future recruitment exams.