Munger: A major fraud has been uncovered during the Assistant Education Development Officer recruitment examination in Munger, where police arrested four impersonators, commonly referred to as “Munna Bhais”, and detained 18 others for questioning.
The examination, conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission, was held across 20 centres in the district on Tuesday under heightened security arrangements.
Authorities said the arrests were made after irregularities were detected during routine inspections. The four accused — identified as Sujal Kumar, Sameer Kumar, Prashant Kumar and Priyanshu Kumar — were allegedly appearing in place of genuine candidates. Mobile phones and tablets were recovered from them.
In a separate action, the superintendent of an examination centre at Upendra Training Academy, Archana Kumari, was suspended for alleged negligence. Officials said biometric verification staff were found using mobile phones, in violation of exam guidelines.
According to Syed Imran Masood, the official action followed a complaint from the district education authorities. Preliminary findings suggest the involvement of an organised network that recruited local youths to impersonate candidates and facilitate cheating.
Investigators also suspect attempts to leak the question paper. During the probe, links to a nodal agency in Rajasthan emerged, which allegedly trained over 100 candidates to bypass biometric checks and participate fraudulently.
Police believe that a coaching operator, A K Rathore, may be the mastermind behind the network. Raids are under way to locate and arrest him.
The examination was conducted in two shifts — from 10am to 12pm and 2:30pm to 4:30pm — with strict entry protocols. Candidates were allowed entry only after thorough checks within designated time slots.
Officials said security has now been further tightened for the remaining examinations, with enhanced surveillance measures in place.
The administration has warned that any irregularities will be dealt with strictly, as it seeks to preserve the transparency and credibility of the recruitment process.
