'Bluetooth slippers': How candidates tried to cheat in REET exam

The Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers was held across the state on Sunday amid tight security measures that included suspension of mobile Internet services in some districts to prevent cheating.

Five people were arrested in Bikaner with slippers fitted with Bluetooth devices for allegedly attempting to cheat in the exam for the selection of teachers.

Conducted by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, the exam was held in two shifts at 3,993 centres set up across 33 districts. As many as 16.51 lakh candidates had enrolled themselves for it.

Elaborate security arrangements were made for the exam. Strict steps were taken to check any attempts of cheating and mobile Internet services were suspended in many districts, including Jaipur.

In Dausa and Jaipur rural, police arrested four and eight dummy candidates and busted a gang involved in cheating in Bikaner, Ajmer, Pratapgarh and Sikar. Seven others were arrested from different places in connection with fraud in the REET exam.

SP of Bikaner Priti Chandra said five people were arrested in the Gangshahar police station area for trying to cheat in the exam.

Among them, three were REET aspirants who were found wearing slippers fitted with a small calling device connected with a SIM card. A tiny Bluetooth-enabled device was fitted in the ear of the candidates which was not easily visible, she said.

Two of those arrested were gang members who provided the candidates with the slippers each costing Rs 6 lakh.

"They were caught at a bus stand before the exam. During checking, the slippers and other devices were recovered. The main accused and the gang leader identified as Tulsaram Kaler is absconding while two members of his gang were arrested," she said.

Chandra said police in other districts were alerted after the arrests were made.

Also, one person was held in the Jainarayan Vyas Colony police station area of Bikaner. Acting on the information of Bikaner police, two candidates were arrested in Pratapgarh and one each in Sikar and Ajmer.

At an exam centre in the Alwar district, candidates were angered by the delay in starting the examination in the first shift. 

Superintendent of Police, Bhiwadi, Ram Moorty Joshi said the exam was delayed because the papers were not made available to the centre on time. The exam of the first shift at one centre will be conducted again, he said.

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