4 Haryana Men Jailed for Exam Cheating with Modified Devices at IIT-Powai

Four candidates from Haryana have been remanded to 14 days in judicial custody after being arrested for using modified electronic devices to cheat during a written exam at Kendriya Vidyalaya in IIT-Powai on August 9. Powai police produced the accused in court on Friday following the completion of their initial five-day police custody.

The four suspects were identified as Devendra Singh, Bhoop Singh, Ravi Singh, and Ravindra Singh. They were appearing for the non-teaching written examinations conducted by Central Sanskrit University for Multi-Tasking Staff (Group D) guard or peon posts when they were apprehended.

Powai police seized seven modified mobile devices from the suspects. According to Powai police inspector Ganesh Patil, the seized equipment differed significantly from typical smartphones. The devices consisted of bare circuit boards stripped of external casings, screens, and keyboards. The screens and speakers were removed entirely to create an extremely compact form.

Inspector Patil explained that each modified device incorporated a SIM card slot and a tiny lithium battery wired directly to the board, bound together by a rubber band roughly the size of a small biscuit. A single red button linked to a Bluetooth earpiece, allowing the main unit to be concealed discreetly inside a shirt collar, trouser waistband, or belt. Candidates hid the micro Bluetooth component between their fingers to bypass security checks by invigilators upon entering the examination hall.

In one instance, doctors had to intervene to extract a micro Bluetooth device that had become lodged deeply inside the ear canal of one of the suspects.

Following the arrests, the father of one of the candidates arrived to inquire about his ward after learning of the offence. Investigators are continuing their probe to trace and identify the individuals responsible for assembling and supplying the altered electronic devices to the four candidates.