Chandigarh, August 1: Punjab Police has dismantled a Haryana-based inter-state cheating network that used advanced technology during the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) Faridkot pharmacy examination, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains declared on Friday.
Addressing a press conference at the PEDA Complex, Minister Bains stated that the swift operation by law enforcement cleared all doubts regarding a paper leak and uncovered an organized cheating network originating outside the state. He affirmed that the Bhagwant Mann government maintains zero tolerance for examination fraud and will protect the reputation of Punjab’s educational sector.
“The Haryana Police failed to act against the cheating syndicate. It was Punjab Police that cracked the BFUHS Faridkot pharmacy examination cheating case, whose trail led to a Bhiwani-based mastermind,” Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains stated.
He asserted that the state’s education system focuses on merit, contrasting it with the lack of action against fraud networks operating across the border. He maintained that Haryana’s Bhiwani district had turned into an epicenter for examination malpractices that affected the prospects of thousands of job seekers and students.
Detailing the law enforcement action alongside the Minister, Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) Nilambri Jagdale clarified the nature of the crackdown and the mechanisms used by the accused.
“Let me make one thing absolutely clear. This is not a paper leak case. It is a highly organised, technology-driven cheating racket with inter-state linkages,” IGP Nilambri Jagdale affirmed. She stated that ten handlers and twenty-five candidates have been taken into custody following raids across multiple locations.
Investigations revealed that the group operated from a rented property in Faridkot, which served as a temporary control room. Handlers received captured images of the question paper via a spy device shortly after the test commenced, prepared the answers, and attempted to relay them through modified micro-communication devices and hidden earpieces.
IGP Jagdale declared that prompt intelligence inputs enabled police units to raid the setup before the plan could be fully executed. She added that over two hundred police personnel were deployed across centers to oversee thorough frisking.
Police confiscated thirty-eight modified mobile handsets, twenty-one hidden earpieces, and two vehicles. Official findings confirmed that no government employee, examination supervisor, or departmental staff was involved in the operation. Authorities declared that search teams are conducting targeted raids in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Punjab to arrest the remaining suspects.
