Thiruvananthapuram: Two men from Haryana were arrested for impersonation during an examination for technicians at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here on Sunday, Kerala Police said.
The two were impersonating the actual candidates- Sumit and Sunil. The arrest was formally recorded late Sunday night, a police official said.
Besides them, four other persons from the northern state were also in custody in connection with the incident, the officer said and added that whether they took the test or not was being investigated.
The persons who impersonated Sumit and Sunil are Manoj Kumar and Gautam Chauhan respectively. Kumar and Chauhan sat for the exam at the St. Mary's School at Pattom and Cotton Hill School. The duo who were residing near the airport planned to fly back immediately after the examination.
Police teams from the Museum and Medical College stations made the arrests based on a tip-off. The police have revealed that a huge racket operating from North India is behind the exam fraud. The racket is based out of a coaching centre in Haryana. The impersonators are paid a hefty sum for their services.
A case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and various other provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act has been lodged against them, police said.
Since the accused speak only Hindi, their identities were traced with the help of Haryana police. Central agencies are also interrogating them.
Though the gang had visited Noida with the same objective, they couldn't attempt the exam due to intensified checks here.
Manoj Kumar and Gautam Chauhan were indulging in high-tech copying of examination paper when the invigilators, on a tip off from Kerala Police, conducted a detailed search on all candidates. The two were using Bluetooth devices and a mobile phone was found tied to the stomach of each of the candidates.
The arrested had taken the photographs of the question paper using the phone and passed on to someone who were providing answers through Bluetooth.
Meanwhile, the demand for cancellation of the examination is on the rise. According to police, around 469 Haryana natives had taken the examination which requires a minimum qualification of Grade 12.
