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Lakhs of rupees and an International mastermind, solving the JEE Main question paper leak

JEE Main 2021 Question paper leak has a new angle. On Monday CBI detained a foreign national at IGI Airport, New Delhi for links to the last year's paper leak case. The Russian national was allegedly the mastermind behind the case. With all the markings of an international racket, here is a look at the JEE Main question paper leak case.

Kanika Khurana

Updated Oct 4, 2022, 11:11 IST

Lakhs of rupees and an International mastermind solving the JEE Main question paper leak

Sounds like a heist, only this is something more! It’s a scam that involves lakhs of rupees, an international mastermind and a yearlong chase. This is not the plot of a new ‘Don’ Bollywood movie but the makings of the JEE Main 2021 question paper leak.

In September 2021, soon after the end of JEE Main examination, reports of raids at multiple locations in India quickly spread. Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI conducted raids in as many as 20 places and apprehended many people, but the mastermind behind the operations was still elusive.

Circa October 2022, a Russian national is detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, bringing to closure the case of JEE Main paper leak.

As per reports, the foreign national, Mikhail Shargin was detailed upon his arrival from Almaty, Kazakhstan on the basis of a lookout circular or LOC. The Russian national was reportedly the brains behind the ‘hacking’ of the iLeon Software - the software used to conduct the JEE Main examination. As per the sources, CBI is expected to make an arrest soon.

How they planned the ‘coup’

JEE Main is conducted every year by National Testing Agency, NTA. As a computer based test, student appear for the examination at designated centres. The question papers appear on the screen and students must answer online.

As per the reports, the purported modus operandi was hacking into the software to get remote access of the question paper. Students were asked to opt for the designated examination centre. Once the paper started, the machines were hacked by professional and remote access was taken at another location.

Experts from the subject were employed at the remote locations to solve the paper while the student ‘appeared’ to be writing his/her examination. The guarantee – clearing the competitive exam.

In exchange, the people charged anywhere between 12 lakh to 15 lakh. Person was required to submit their Class 12 original mark sheet (which is essential for admission to any college), and a post dated cheque.

During the raids conducted last year, as many as 25 laptops, multiple post-dated cheques and Class 12 mark sheets were seized. The operation was pan India and CBI had conducted raids in over 20 places in Delhi NCR, Pune, Jamshedpur, Indore and Bengaluru. A private institution in Haryana’s Sonepat had been the focal point and case was filed last year.

Now, it has come to light that the operation had international roots and the mastermind in fact a Russian national. The revelation raises questions not only on the sanctity of the examinations conducted in India but the call of these entrance examinations.

A Multi-million industry?

As per the information, they charged about 15 lakh per student. As many as 30 cheques were discovered, bringing the known scam to be at least Rs. 45 crore. The actual extent of the scam is not know, but it can be guessed by the level of involvement (read international), that the Indian education is a market that is lucrative enough.

It would be incorrect to call it ‘only in India’ but the fact remains that the increase in number of aspirants continues to motivate people to resort to unfair means. As institutes use technology to tighten the reins and deter fraudsters, other are using newer ways and technology to circumvent these curbs and find unique ways of cheating. And, as evidence suggests, the world apparently now wants a piece of this cake as well.

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