‘Gang Solver’ operated from a computer lab at Meerut University, used remote access software to help candidates cheat

Based on information received, Uttar Pradesh STF troops raided a computer lab located in the law department of a private university in Meerut when the online CSIR-NET exam was being conducted there.

CSIR-NET documents leak:Seven members of a ‘solver gang’, who allegedly helped some candidates cheat in the CSIR-NET exam held in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police, officials said on Saturday.

According to an official statement, the STF raided the computer lab located in the law department of a private university in Meerut when the online CSIR-NET exam was underway.

Officials said the computer lab at Subharti University was being used as a base of operations by solvers who were using remote access software to help candidates cheat in the CSIR-NET exam and were charging huge sums of money for their “services”.

4 candidates among 7 arrested

The probe team raided the lab following a tip-off and arrested seven members of the gang, including four candidates identified as Ankit, Tamanna, Monica Kumar and Jyoti. Two university officials — Vineet Kumar, a computer lab assistant, and IT department head Arun Sharma — were also arrested, he added.

Ankur Saini, employed by NSEIT as a server operator at the university where the exam was conducted, is the second accused in the case and has been arrested, the STF said, adding that the accused had collected a large sum of money from candidates for helping them cheat in the test.

According to the investigating team, one laptop, five processors, two pen drives, two admit cards for the CSIR NET exam, four mobile phones and other documents, including three Aadhar cards and two PAN cards, were seized during the raid.

Modified computer, remote access software; How the troubleshooting team worked

According to the STF, Arun Sharma, the IT manager, had a modified computer in his room that was connected to the exam lab’s closed network, while lab assistant Vineet Kumar helped obtain server data from the cheating candidates and used remote access software to send it to a man named Ajay, who then hired ‘solvers’ to solve the exam questions and the answers were shared with the accused candidates.

To avoid detection during checks conducted by inspectors during the CSIR-NET exam, Arun sent a “STOP” message to Vineet, telling him to stop the operation for the duration of the checks, the STF investigation revealed.