BAHAWALPUR / RAHIM YAR KHAN: Bahawalpur police claimed to have arrested a gang allegedly involved in helping candidates of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) solve their papers for various posts in the police department.

The written test was held at Government Sadiq Egerton College hall here on Sunday.

Dawn learnt that officials of the police, food and revenue departments were part of the gang and charged millions of rupees from candidates. The gang had set up a control room in a hotel from where they managed to solve entire question papers by communicating with candidates through WhatsApp.

Sources said police raided Koh-i-Noor hotel in Civil Lines area on a tip-off on Sunday morning and found some people using various gadgets. Police seized laptops, data cables, bluetooth devices, SIM cutters, small antennas, camera pens, mobile phones, communication devices and micro earpieces from them.

Police aspirants sent questions to gang through WhatsApp

District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Akhtar Abbas Gondal at a press conference confirmed the gang had been busted, and disclosed that seven persons, including three policemen, had been arrested. He also displayed blue-coloured jackets fitted with electronic gadgets used to help candidates solve question papers. The scope of interrogation would be widened and the Federal Investigation Agency and cyber crime wing would be involved in it, he added.

A day earlier, the gang had helped candidates solve question papers of the PPSC examination in Lahore also.

Civil Lines police station registered a first information report under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, Punjab education malpractices act 1999 and Telegraph Act. The arrested policemen included Sub-Inspector (SI) Saifullah Malhi, SI Ahmad Naqqash, Naib Tehsildar Muhammad Masoom, Aamir Mehmood, Sumair Tariq, Saad Ahmed and Fahad Ahmed. All of them reportedly belonged to Sadiqabad, tehsil headquarters of Rahim Yar Khan.

According to a press release of the DPO, Amir Mehmood in his statement before police claimed that SI Malhi was the ringleader of their gang and had set up an academy in Sadiqabad to help prospective candidates prepare for PPSC exams. But, the real job was solving question papers for candidates through gadgets. Between Rs1 million to Rs1.8 million were charged from each candidate. He also admitted to helping solve question papers of nine candidates at Punjab University, Lahore on Aug 26.

Mehmood also nominated his four accomplices, including Muhammad Waqas, Naveed Ramzan, Najeeb and Belal Ahmed, who were yet to be arrested.

The arrested suspects told police that 23 candidates sent them questions through Whatsapp, then two members of the gang searched for their answers and sent them back. The sources further said candidates appearing for posts of assistant sub-inspector, head constable and constable were the main clients of this gang.

It was also disclosed during investigation that a few days ago, the same gang had helped 22 students of a local college attempt their papers with the help of gadgets hidden in their clothes and each candidate paid Rs1.6 million for it.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2017