Four Haryana Men Arrested for Cheating in CSU Exam at IIT Powai Campus

Powai police arrested four candidates from Haryana on Sunday for allegedly attempting to cheat in a Central Sanskrit University recruitment examination using modified micro mobile phones and Bluetooth earbuds at Kendriya Vidyalaya inside the IIT-Bombay campus in Powai. The accused were produced before the Andheri Court on Monday and remanded in custody.

Police identified the four men, aged between 25 and 30, as Devendra Singh, Bhoop Singh, Ravi Singh, and Ravindra Singh. They were among 324 candidates appearing at the Mumbai centre for the Central Sanskrit University non-teaching written examinations for Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS/Group D) guard and peon positions held on August 9.

According to a complaint filed by Kendriya Vidyalaya principal Vinod Wankhede, invigilators became suspicious after observing the men's behaviour in separate examination rooms. Invigilator Rakesh Kumar noticed unusual body language from Devendra Singh in room number 69. Upon inspection, Singh was found carrying a modified two-and-a-half-inch mobile phone in his pant pocket connected to a Bluetooth earbud.

When discovered, Devendra Singh pushed officials and tried to escape from the examination hall and flee the campus. Campus security guards apprehended him after the invigilator raised an alarm. Following a check of all candidates in the centre, the police and examination staff discovered three additional men equipped with similar devices.

Powai police booked all four under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for common intention, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. DCP (West Zone-3) Datta Nalawade confirmed the arrests and stated that police are investigating whether the candidates managed to communicate with anyone outside before being caught, or if they were intercepted prior to receiving answers.

Police said the candidates were not dummy applicants, as their Aadhaar details matched their hall tickets. The assembled handsets, valued at Rs 700 each, possessed only calling features and contained no stored data. Investigators are gathering SIM card details and extracting data to trace who provided the modified devices and whether any phone numbers were dialled once the exam commenced.