CSIR-NET Exam: UP STF Bust Cheating Via Remote Access at Meerut University, 3 TCS Employees Arrested

The Uttar Pradesh Police busted a remote rigging racket during the CSIR-NET examination following a raid at the Subharti University in Meerut district, arresting three Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employees. Mobile phones seized from the trio reportedly carried the names and IP addresses of 11 aspirants while two laptops recovered showed Any Desk remote access to the exam centre. While the CSIR-NET exam is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA), TCS is the technology facilitator for it.

“On getting a tip-off about rigging in the CSIR-NET exam, the raid was carried out at Meerut’s Subharti University on Friday. Our investigation revealed that the server of the computer lab where the exam was being held was breached. During the search, the team recovered one extra computer, which was connected with the examination lab, using Local Area Network (LAN),” said Amitabh Yash, UP STF chief and ADG Law and Order, UP Police.

Yash added that two laptops in the server room had Any Desk remote access. “We have arrested three TCS employees and have recovered mobile phones from their possession. While scanning the recovered mobile phones, the team found the names of 11 aspirants along with the IP addresses.”

It is suspected that the aspirants shared access to their systems with a “solver” sitting outside the exam centre via Any Desk, a remote desktop software that allows users to access and control devices from anywhere, as if they were using the device locally.

The TCS employees arrested are Arun Sharma and Mohammed Usman, while the third person arrested has not been named yet. Police said the devices recovered from them are being scanned to know identity others involved in the racket.

Subharti University distanced itself from the alleged rigging, stating that it had rented out the lab to TCS. “We have given the lab on rent to TCS, which was conducting the exam. The entire responsibility for conducting the exam lies with TCS and hence the university has nothing to do with the rigging,” said Additional Registrar Syed Zafar Hussain.

In another statement, the university said it came to know about the alleged rigging at 11am on Friday when the UP STF raided the lab. “Subharti University has no connection with the examination. The online examination center has been given on rent to TCS. The test consists of the agency’s servers and their employees. Our university has already been closed following the ongoing Kanwar Yatra in the region and hence none of our staff was present on the premises,” the statement said.

The university administration said TCS had conducted a mock test the day before and had formatted all the systems and installed their own software after which the lab was locked.

The CSIR-NET exam was held on Friday in two batches. The first batch was from 9am to 12 noon during which the STF team conducted the raid at the university and seized the server. Sources said the second batch was held between 3pm to 6pm using a different server, which the STF had ordered from TCS.

NTA Director-General Pradeep Kharola is learnt to have reached the exam centre along with a team on Friday afternoon upon receiving information of the alleged rigging. There was no response when News18 reached out to his office for comment.

This is the second time that the CSIR-NET, conducted to determine eligibility for junior research fellowship and for post of assistant professor in colleges for science subjects, was scheduled this year after the previous one was cancelled following reports of paper leaks. The exam is conducted by the NTA and was scheduled for July 25 and July 27 across cities.