Kathmandu, October 15

Police have arrested as many as 30 persons, including students, for cheating and helping test takers cheat in the MBBS entrance examination held by the Institute of Medicine over a period of two days.

A joint team of Metropolitan Police Crime Division and Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu,  arrested 11 suspects from Arunima Secondary School exam centre in Nayabasti, Kathmandu-6 and nearby hotels for allegedly helping examinees write their papers using wireless electronic devices, yesterday. “We continued the operation and arrested 19 more suspects from exam centres in Chabahil, Swoyambhu and Kamalpokhari today. The examinees used sophisticated wireless devices to pass on questions to the racketeers, including doctors and educational consultancy operators, who helped the test takers write their papers for money,” an official at MPR said.

Police are interrogating students as well as doctors and experts arrested during the coordinated operation. Android mobile phone sets, laptops, bluetooth devices and wireless ear plugs are among the gadgets recovered by police. Most of the arrestees, who helped the examinees cheat, are Indian.

Preliminary investigation shows that the racket had targeted an amount of over Rs 50 million by helping 500 students cheat via wireless gadgets. Similarly, five persons, including Suresh Sah, 24, were arrested for taking MBBS entrance test, on behalf of others.

“Some consultancy operators have also been arrested for investigation. Though the existing laws don’t consider cheating in exams a serious crime, the racket being run in an organised way to collect hefty cash from aspiring MBBS students is a big issue and we will deal with it accordingly,” he informed.