The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested 10 people, including the principal and four instructors of Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Naini, for allegedly running a solver gang that arranged impersonators to appear in Computer Based Test (CBT) examinations for money during the All India Trade Test-2026.
The arrests were made on Wednesday by STF’s Prayagraj field unit from the Kaushal Vikas Building located inside the Government ITI, Naini campus under Naini police station limits, the STF said on Thursday.
Those arrested have been identified as alleged solvers Shivam Kumar, Ranvijay Singh, Jai Singh, Jitendra Patel and Dileep Kumar Patel, besides Government ITI principal Ashok Kumar, examination in-charge Ravi Prakash, and instructors Phool Prakash, Dheeraj Kumar Sharma, Rajesh Kumar and Rajkumar Maurya. Another accused, Dhirendra Kumar, who allegedly coordinated the racket, is absconding and efforts are on to arrest him, said Dy SP Shailesh Pratap Singh of STF’s Prayagraj field unit.
According to the official, they had received intelligence that officials and employees at the institute were accepting money from candidates and allowing solvers to appear in the CBT examinations in their place. The examinations are being conducted in three shifts from July 11 to August 8.
Acting on the tip-off, an STF team laid a trap and apprehended the accused. During the operation, the STF recovered five admit card photocopies, five computer monitors, five CPUs, five keyboards, five computer mouses, ₹5.10 lakh, 67 examination-related documents, six Android mobile phones, three Aadhaar cards, one pen drive, three PAN cards, seven ATM cards and another ₹16,370 recovered during personal search of the accused.
{{/usCountry}}Acting on the tip-off, an STF team laid a trap and apprehended the accused. During the operation, the STF recovered five admit card photocopies, five computer monitors, five CPUs, five keyboards, five computer mouses, ₹5.10 lakh, 67 examination-related documents, six Android mobile phones, three Aadhaar cards, one pen drive, three PAN cards, seven ATM cards and another ₹16,370 recovered during personal search of the accused.
{{/usCountry}}STF officials said that during interrogation, the accused disclosed that candidates who were weak in studies paid money to have solvers take the CBT examination on their behalf. The STF claimed the network charged around ₹4,000 per candidate, with the money allegedly being collected by institute staff and later shared among those involved. The absconding accused allegedly coordinated the operation and arranged solvers.
The arrested solvers told the police that they were called whenever required, seated separately and made to log into the examination system using candidates’ credentials before taking the test in their place. They allegedly received ₹500 each for appearing in an examination.
An FIR has been registered at Naini police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.