KARACHI: Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Samiullah Soomro said on Tuesday that four suspects who had been involved in leaking matric exams had been arrested.

Speaking to Dawn, Soomro said that Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP) Azad Khan and Commissioner Syed Hasan Naqvi had tasked law enforcement agencies (LEAs) with reducing cheating during the ongoing matriculation exams.

He said the agencies identified at least eight WhatsApp groups where conversations involved in leaking exams. He said that acting on a tip-off, the SIU conducted raids in different areas and arrested four suspects, including Mobin Khan, who was a final-year student of cybersecurity.

During the investigation, Khan revealed that at least 13 WhatsApp groups were created for this purpose, with each group having 1,000 students, the official said.

He added that the suspect charged between Rs800 to Rs1,200 per student and earned Rs250,000 in a short span of time. Khan used a United Kingdom mobile number for the conversation, he said.

The official said three other suspects — identified as Abdul Razzaq, Bilal and Mohammed Usama — were also arrested during the operation.

Soomro said that during the interrogation, it emerged that two more gangs were also involved in leaking examination papers, bringing the tally to 10.

He said that SIU police registered a first information report (FIR) against the four suspects under relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Telegraph Act. He added further investigation was underway.