Nagpur police on Saturday arrested two individuals from Bhandara, in connection with a viral phone call recording in which an aspirant is purportedly asked to pay Rs 40 lakh in exchange for the question paper of MPSC Group B (non-gazetted) joint examination 2024. As per the officials, Nagpur Crime Branch arrested Deepak Sakhare (25), a resident of Balaghat in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Yogesh Waghmare (28), a resident of Bhandara. MPSC Group B exam is scheduled to be held on Sunday.
Police searching for two other accused
As per the Nagpur Crime Branch official, two persons, identified as Ashish and Pradeep Kulpe, are at large. "The original complaint in the case was filed in Pune. The arrests came about after Pune police alerted us. The accused have been handed over to Pune police for further legal action," the Nagpur Crime Branch official said.
Authorities were on alert after a audio clip surfaced, wherein a a person offers to provide the question paper to a candidate a day before the exam in return for Rs 35-40 lakh. MPSC approached the police for an investigation after learning about the viral audio clip.
MPSC issued clarification
As soon as the audio clip went viral on social media, MPSC issued a clarification and said all the question paper sets are safe in their custody.
Addressing a press conference in Navi Mumbai, MPSC secretary Dr Suvara Kharat said all preparations are in place to conduct the Maharashtra Group-B (Non-Gazetted) Services Combined Preliminary Examination 2024 in a fair and transparent manner.
"There should be no doubts regarding the integrity of the examination process. Aspirants must not believe in rumours of leaks etc. All question papers are securely stored under stringent security protocols. It has come to our notice that some individuals are attempting to deceive candidates by falsely claiming to have access to the exam papers and demanding money in return," Kharat said.
"The Maharashtra Public Service Commission has lodged a complaint with the Pune Police Commissioner. Legal action is being pursued against those involved in such fraudulent activities. Candidates who receive phone calls or messages offering question papers in exchange for money should lodge a complaint by emailing contactsecretary@mpsc.gov.in," Kharat added.
(With PTI inputs)