Seven held for hacking into IAF recruitment exam, taking test from remote location

“The arrest was made Sunday afternoon after a team of ISC received information that a group was involved in cheating during online recruitment exam for group X and Y posts in Indian Air Force, held from September 21-24.

Last year, the vigilance wing of the IAF had unearthed a cheating scam where online examination paper for technical and non-technical posts was hacked.

Seven men have been arrested by the Delhi Police from Mukherjee Nagar for allegedly hacking the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) online recruitment test for non-commissioned officers through a remote system, which enabled them to take the test on behalf of aspirants. The arrest was made by the inter-state cell (ISC) of Crime Branch, and initial investigation has revealed that five of them had earlier appeared for various competitive examinations, but after failing to crack them, started taking exams for other aspirants.

The accused were identified as Naresh, the alleged leader of the gang, and his accomplices Ankush, Rakesh, Aman, Manjeet, Vikrant and Hardeep.
“The arrest was made Sunday afternoon after a team of ISC received information that a group was involved in cheating during online recruitment exam for group X and Y posts in Indian Air Force, held from September 21-24.

A team led by DCP (Crime Branch) Rajesh Deo conducted a raid in Gandhi Vihar area of Mukherjee Nagar, where they found the accused sitting in a room and taking the exam for others,” a senior officer said. The accused tried to escape after jumping off the balcony of the rented flat in the two-storey building. One of them received serious injuries in his leg and was taken to a hospital. Police have recovered several computers.

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“During questioning, Naresh told police they charged Rs 7-8 lakh from aspirants. They took the test from a remote location,” an officer said.
Explaining their modus operandi, a senior officer said they hacked the exam server with the help of “TeamViewer software”, which allows the gang to operate any computer from a remote location.

“During questioning, they disclosed that they struck a deal with the supervisors of some examination centres and shared the same software with them to install on computers. Supervisors switched off CCTV cameras while hacking the server. On the day of the examination, the candidates would sit at the centre but the accused, sitting in their room, would take the tests for them,” an officer said.

Police have identified several such aspirants and are conducting raids to nab them. The IAF has been told about the matter. Last year, the vigilance wing of the IAF had unearthed a cheating scam where online examination paper for technical and non-technical posts was hacked.

Mahender Singh Manral

Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More

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