STF Busts Gang Helping Candidates Cheat In SSC Multi-Tasking Staff Exam; Two Held From Dehradun

Meerut: Two active members of a gang allegedly involved in cheating in the Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) competitive examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) have been arrested from Uttarakhand's Dehradun by a joint team of the Special Task Forces (STF) of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, police said on Saturday.

The Mahadev Digital Zone in Dehradun was designated as the centre for the examination, where a company called Eduquity was given the responsibility of setting up the master computer on which the malpractice took place, they added.

The gadgets seized by the STF. (ETV Bharat.)

"A team of head constables, Rakam Singh, Pradeep Dhankad and Romish Tomar, led by sub-inspector Shri Jaiveer Singh from Meerut STF, was touring Dehradun for intelligence gathering. During this time, information regarding cyber malpractice was received. The team informed the higher authorities and shared the information with STF Dehradun," Assistant Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Singh of Meerut STF said.

Singh added that Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jagdish Chandra Pant of STF Dehradun conducted a thorough search of the UPS room located near the examination lab, in which two laptops were found running, with a moving cursor, suggesting they were being operated remotely.

"One laptop had two open windows, one partially displaying a terminal window, and another window above it displayed 16 cards/icons, below which the private IP address and port number were displayed. A second laptop placed in front of it showed four open windows. One window displayed a network connection, displaying "Internet" and "Wi-Fi Not Correct" icons. The second window, partially visible, appeared to be a terminal, displaying some IP addresses. The title bar of the third window displayed the RealVNC viewer. The fourth window displayed "Check (Running) Oracle VM VirtualBox", and the main window displayed some icons. Additionally, an Ethernet adapter, router, charger, and other items were seen in the chamber," Singh said.

The gadgets seized by the STF. (ETV Bharat.)

Singh said the accused who were arrested on Friday have been identified as Nitish Kumar, a resident of UP's Deoria and Bhaskar Naithani of Dehradun and four mobile phones, two laptops, and an internet router were seized from them. Previously, Nitish came to the same centre in November 2025 for the Delhi Police Driver examination conducted by the SSC when he got this setup installed by his associates.

"His fellow gang members told him that they were charging Rs 10 lakh from each candidate to help them clear the exam. If he had any candidates, he would take Rs four lakh in advance, and the remaining amount would be paid after they passed. Nitish used to open the UPS room's chamber between 6 am and 6:30 am on the day of the exam, turn on the laptop, then close the chamber with the lid, and hide it with other items," Singh said.

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