New Delhi: Over the past 48 hours, authorities in Uttar Pradesh have arrested more than 120 individuals for engaging in fraudulent activities, including impersonating candidates and cheating during the police constable recruitment examination, as officials announced on Saturday.
Prashant Kumar, the Director General of Police (DGP), revealed that out of the total 122 arrests, 15 occurred in Etah, with nine each in Mau, Prayagraj, and Siddharthanagar, eight in Ghazipur, seven in Azamgarh, six in Gorakhpur, five in Jaunpur, four in Firozabad, three each in Kaushambi and Hathras, and two each in Jhansi, Varanasi, Agra, and Kanpur. Furthermore, there was one arrest each in Ballia, Deoria, and Bijnor.
During an unplanned inspection at two examination centers in the Gomtinagar area of Lucknow, Kumar highlighted that the examination, held on February 17 and 18, involved over 48 lakh candidates across two shifts.
Amitabh Yash, the Additional Director General of the Special Task Force (STF), informed PTI that those apprehended were caught using cheat sheets. He explained that while some were arrested for impersonating legitimate candidates, others were detained for deceiving candidates during the police constable recruitment examination.
The arrests occurred between February 15 and 17, according to Yash.
Dhananjay Kushwaha, Additional Superintendent of Police, mentioned that the 15 individuals detained in Etah by a surveillance team from the Kotwali police station, allegedly attempting to use unfair tactics in the exam, are currently undergoing interrogation.
However, Kushwaha refrained from providing specific details about the methods employed by the apprehended individuals.
In the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, specifically in Ballia district, a man allegedly gathered funds from candidates, promising to guarantee their success in the examination.
According to a statement from the Ballia Police, Saleem Ansari was captured by a team from the Rasda police station. The police disclosed seizing Rs 8.99 lakh from Ansari, funds he purportedly collected from candidates taking part in the exam.