Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police Vimal Kumar Singh, has busted a gang involved in systematic cheating and illegal recruitment in competitive examinations. The operation led to the arrest of nine individuals, including the gang leader, Manish, for facilitating fraudulent practices at multiple exam centers.
During intelligence-gathering operations on March 24, 2026, an STF team comprising Inspector Gyanendra Kumar Rai, Mahavir Singh, Deepak Singh, Rizwan, and other officers, conducted field surveillance across Lucknow. They received information that a gang operating in Jhansi, Jalaun, and neighboring districts was luring unemployed youth and their parents with promises of government and public sector jobs, collecting money, and producing forged certificates, including medical documents, for use in competitive exams.
The gang reportedly deployed trained scribes to write exams on behalf of candidates at offline exam centers, including the Central Academy Sector 04 in Vikasnagar, Lucknow. Acting on this intelligence, the STF, with local police support, detained eight suspects at the Vikasnagar exam center, and later brought one additional suspect from Gaurakpur for questioning. Based on interrogations and documentary evidence, all nine individuals were arrested.
During interrogation, gang leader Manish admitted that his network manipulated offline exams for various government and public department recruitment processes. The gang charged candidates money to have their exam papers completed by scribes, and also illegally facilitated employment using falsified certificates. From March 22 to 25, 2026, the gang was found to have similarly manipulated the CBSE Eklavya Model Residential School Tier-2 Junior Secretariat Assistant Examination.
An FIR (No. 54/2026) has been registered at Vikasnagar Police Station under Sections 3(5), 61(2)(A), 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2) BNS, and Sections 3/10 of the UP Public Examination (Unfair Means Prevention) Act, 2024. Further legal proceedings are ongoing with the local police.
This operation highlights the STF’s vigilance in curbing organized examination fraud and protecting the integrity of recruitment processes in Uttar Pradesh
