Six persons, including a woman, from Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts were arrested by a special team of Dharmapuri police on charges of cheating Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) candidates by promising copies of the question paper for Rs. 5 lakh a copy. Police seized Rs. 7.8 lakh from the gang. It turned out that the gang did not possess one, but cheated candidates by lying to them that the paper had been leaked.
L. Ashok Kumar from Thally in Krishnagiri district lodged a complaint with Dharmapuri Superintendent of Police Asra Garg that he was cheated by a gang which took Rs. 1 lakh from him on Friday evening assuring that it would return with the question paper in an hour. But it did not turn up.
With the information provided by him, the special team led by Special Branch Inspector K. Radhakrishnan and Sub Inspector R. Ilavarasan arrested A. Ganapathy (39), his wife Esther Deva Krubai (37), S. Ilayaraja, V. Krishnappa, M. Chandrasekar (30), and M. Ashokan (35), a salesman at a Tasmac outlet at Mahendramangalam in Dharmapuri district.
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Police said Ganapathy and Chandrasekar were the main players who lured TET candidates with the promise that they would give copies of the leaked question paper for Rs. 5 lakh at an isolated place on Friday night.
The deal was that those who wanted a copy would hand over Rs. 2 lakh and their certificates. After writing the test, they could pay the balance Rs. 3 lakh and take the certificates back. Ashok gave them only Rs. 1 lakh as advance payment, stating that he could manage only that much.
They were remanded in judicial custody for 15 days. Later, they were lodged at the Salem Central Prison.
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