MDCAT scam: Police arrest five suspects

F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Capital City Police on Saturday claimed to have traced the entire network behind the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) scandal and arrested five suspects, including the suspected mastermind.
In a statement issued by the police said that the mastermind and key leader of the network has been apprehended dozens of devices, microphones, mobile phones and smart watches were recovered from the possession of the accused. As many as 19 FIRs have been lodged in the provincial capital after the scam was unearthed. 74 male and female students involved in using electronic devices in the examination have been also apprehended in Peshawar and presented to the court, police said.
The members of the network involved in the MDCAT scam have been identified as Fahad, Fazal Subhan, Arshad Anwar, Fazl Wahab and Aminullah. Initial investigation of the police revealed that the arrested persons are highly educated and trained in the use of advanced technology in the examination centers.
The special team of Capital City Police in collaboration with Kohat Police has also conducted several operations to track down the prime suspects involved in the mega-scandal of MDCAT examination. Police investigation found that the main character Zafar Mahmood and his brother, resident of Karak and facilitator of the network in Peshawar, Kohat, Abbottabad and other districts of the province have been arrested.
Police claimed to have seized electronic devices from the arrested students and CDRs of their mobile numbers as well as staff members of the concerned authority have been obtained for further investigation. During the investigation, it has also come to light that the arrested network members were in touch with all the candidates to solve the paper simultaneously under a centralized system.
A written message has also been sent to the concerned institutions for the IP address information of the server to which the devices belonging to the students were connected. 44 devices used in the scam, three smartphones, a smart watch and a bank check worth lakhs of rupees have also been recovered from the arrested persons, said police.
It is pertinent to mention here that scores of the candidates were caught while using the Bluetooth-enabled pocket-sized devices connected to micro earpieces during the examination. Following the use of unfair means and protests of the students and their parents, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has already issued a ruling against further processing of the test and the release of MDCAT exam results. More than 46439 candidates appeared in the admission test for medical and dental colleges held on September 10 at 43 centers in 11 major cities of KP.