KARACHI: Announcing a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD)-led crackdown on the rampant ‘cheating mafia’ across the province, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday ordered for printing of examination papers and their distribution in the presence of respective district administrations.

He took the decision while presiding over an ‘emergent’ meeting at the CM House in a bid to prevent unfair means and leak of question papers during the ongoing examinations in various divisions of Sindh.

The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) chairman told the meeting that there were 118 examination centres in Karachi, of them 11, including colleges in Korangi and Landhi, City College and one in Buffer Zone, were problematic where organised mafia was engaged in unfair means and leaks of examination papers.

The chief minister said the examination papers were leaked either from the board offices or by organised groups in which some of the internal staff and invigilators could be involved.

CTD claims group involved in leaking papers through WhatsApp identified

“The printing of examination papers will be monitored by the deputy commissioner Central, Karachi, and other DCs in their respective districts and distribution of papers at the examination centres will also be made in the presence of officers from the respective district administrations across Sindh,” he ordered.

The meeting was told that some stenographers and other staff members recently transferred from the BIEK office were involved and working with the organised gangs.

On this, the chief minister directed the CTD to launch an investigation into the matter and keep him posted on day-to-day progress on his WhatsApp account. “Get them arrested,” he said.

CM Shah asked the Karachi police chief to provide security to all examination centres and depute policemen in plain clothes where mafias and organised gangs were involved in facilitating cheating and leaking papers during the examination.

“The way examinations are being conducted and question papers are leaked is painful. If you cannot hold fair examinations then it is better to promote students to next grade without checking their capabilities,” he regretted.

“This is injustice to meritorious students and I would not allow this at any cost,” he said, adding that he would pay surprise visits to examination centres.

CTD’s investigation

The police authorities on Monday claimed to have traced more than a dozen “WhatsApp groups” allegedly involved in cheating and leaking intermediate question papers across Sindh. The racket is also being facilitated by former employees of the BIEK in the metropolis and two India-based groups in other parts of the province, mainly in the border area of Mithi.

The CTD had identified at least 15 WhatsApp groups involved in unfair means during the ongoing examination in the province, said CTD SSP Naveed Ahmed Nisar Khowaja, who is probing the matter.

CM Shah has recently taken notice of the cheating and leaking of question papers and directed CTD AIG Dr Sanaullah Abbasi to take action against it. Subsequently, a CTD team headed by Mr Khowaja was formed to launch a crackdown on the ‘cheating mafia’.

“On Sunday night, the CTD conducted raids in Karachi, Hyderabad and Mithi following identification of the elements involved in cheating through WhatsApp groups,” said CTD DIG Amir Farooqi. But the suspects had already fled and their mobile phones were also switched off.

The CTD crackdown brought a ‘positive impact’ on Monday as no question paper was leaked on any WhatsApp group anywhere in the province. The CTD DIG, however, admitted that the question paper was leaked at around 9.35am in Karachi, but it was not seen on any WhatsApp group.

The senior official of the police’s counterterrorism force said that certain former officials of the Karachi intermediate board were allegedly involved in unfair means as per the CTD probe into the matter. Besides, he said, one official of the education department was found involved in cheating in Mithi, a district near the border with India.

Mr Farooqi revealed that two WhatsApp groups based in the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan were also operating the network of cheating in Mithi with help of the education department official there.

The CTD DIG said the education department official and Indian citizens had been identified through Facebook profiles.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2017