AHMEDABAD: After a month-long investigation, police in Gujarat’s Mehsana district have uncovered an alleged racket for trying to trick ineligible students to travel to Canada on student visas and then enter the US illegally. It was helpful to score high marks in an international English proficiency test. an official said on Monday.
Mehsana police have registered a case against 45 people, including a student from Surat, in connection with the alleged racket and arrested three of them. International English Language Testing System (IELTS). IELTS is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English speakers, in which a good score is required for admission to prestigious colleges in many countries.
Those who have been booked include the owner of a coaching class, the chief executive officer of a private examination management and educational services company and around two dozen students, he said.
The alleged racket comes after six youths from Gujarat, who were nabbed by US border officials in March during a failed attempt to enter the US from Canada, responded in English to questions posed by a US judge during a court hearing. failed in
While four of those six students were from different parts of Mehsana district, two were from Gandhinagar and Patan. The four students from Mehsana district have been identified as Dhruv Patel, Neil Patel, Urvish Patel and Sawan Patel.
Amit Chaudhary, the alleged mastermind of the racket, had taken Rs 10 lakh to 20 lakh from 21 students and helped them form 6 to 7 bands. ielts exam In connivance with some employees of Ahmedabad-based testing agency Planet EDU, the inspector said Bhavesh Rathod of Mehsana Police special operations group (SOG), who was heading the investigation.
On Sunday, Rathod, after completing his month-long investigation, lodged an FIR (First Information Report) at Mehsana ‘B’ Division police station against 45 people, including Choudhary, on charges of cheating (Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code), criminal violation. Trust (406), forgery (465) and criminal conspiracy (120-B).
Other prominent persons named in the FIR included coaching class owner Gokul Menon, Planet EDU chief executive Sanjeev Sehgal, examination manager Rajesh Tahiliani, Menon’s partner Fernandes Sawant, some test supervisors and 21 students who took the test to obtain high IELTS scores. Chowdhary was given money.
“We have already arrested Gokul Menon, his partner Fernandes Sawant and a student from Surat, Sandeep Patel. Choudhary and others had charged Rs 10 lakh to 20 lakh each from 22 ineligible students to help them get high IELTS scores so that they could easily get admission in colleges abroad even if they were not fluent in English.
These 21 students include four students from Mehsana who were caught by US authorities in March.
The inspector said that the matter would be further investigated by the Mehsana city police.
According to the FIR, Choudhary and others had arranged for proxy students, who were proficient in English, to take the written test for genuine candidates with the help of some Exam Day Supervisors (TDS) and writing examiners appointed by the testing agency Planet EDU.
According to police documents, the test was conducted in September last year at a hotel in south Gujarat’s Navsari town.
In addition, the SOG investigation revealed that the English speaking tests were also rigged.
The FIR states that speaking test examiner Renu Suri had allowed proxy candidates to appear on behalf of genuine students, the speaking proficiency test was conducted at 10 pm after the end of the actual examination.
Investigation revealed that it was Fernandes who appeared for the English speaking test on behalf of Neil Patel.
“Except Sawan Patel, who holds a BA degree, the other three students from Mehsana are not even graduates. Since they all studied in Gujarati medium, they approached Choudhary to get a high IELTS score so that they could go to Canada on a student visa and then enter the US using their connections there,” Rathod said.
The Mehsana Police SOG had initiated the investigation at the request of the US authorities.
Six students from Gujarat were apprehended in March from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River in Quesne, US, near the Canadian border.
“When he was produced before a court in the US, he failed to answer the questions asked by the judge in English. The court had to take the help of a Hindi translator. The court was appalled as these students had secured bands 6.5 to 7 in IELTS, an English proficiency test,” Rathod said.
Later, citing a news report on the incident, the Criminal Fraud Investigation Unit of US Consulate General A mail was sent to the Mehsana Police in Mumbai to conduct an investigation to find out how these four students from Mehsana got very high marks and which agency or agents were involved, he informed.
All the six students from Gujarat who were arrested earlier are still in the US and working there. The inspector said that he is out on bail and cannot leave the country till the case against him is pending.
Mehsana police have registered a case against 45 people, including a student from Surat, in connection with the alleged racket and arrested three of them. International English Language Testing System (IELTS). IELTS is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English speakers, in which a good score is required for admission to prestigious colleges in many countries.
Those who have been booked include the owner of a coaching class, the chief executive officer of a private examination management and educational services company and around two dozen students, he said.
The alleged racket comes after six youths from Gujarat, who were nabbed by US border officials in March during a failed attempt to enter the US from Canada, responded in English to questions posed by a US judge during a court hearing. failed in
While four of those six students were from different parts of Mehsana district, two were from Gandhinagar and Patan. The four students from Mehsana district have been identified as Dhruv Patel, Neil Patel, Urvish Patel and Sawan Patel.
Amit Chaudhary, the alleged mastermind of the racket, had taken Rs 10 lakh to 20 lakh from 21 students and helped them form 6 to 7 bands. ielts exam In connivance with some employees of Ahmedabad-based testing agency Planet EDU, the inspector said Bhavesh Rathod of Mehsana Police special operations group (SOG), who was heading the investigation.
On Sunday, Rathod, after completing his month-long investigation, lodged an FIR (First Information Report) at Mehsana ‘B’ Division police station against 45 people, including Choudhary, on charges of cheating (Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code), criminal violation. Trust (406), forgery (465) and criminal conspiracy (120-B).
Other prominent persons named in the FIR included coaching class owner Gokul Menon, Planet EDU chief executive Sanjeev Sehgal, examination manager Rajesh Tahiliani, Menon’s partner Fernandes Sawant, some test supervisors and 21 students who took the test to obtain high IELTS scores. Chowdhary was given money.
“We have already arrested Gokul Menon, his partner Fernandes Sawant and a student from Surat, Sandeep Patel. Choudhary and others had charged Rs 10 lakh to 20 lakh each from 22 ineligible students to help them get high IELTS scores so that they could easily get admission in colleges abroad even if they were not fluent in English.
These 21 students include four students from Mehsana who were caught by US authorities in March.
The inspector said that the matter would be further investigated by the Mehsana city police.
According to the FIR, Choudhary and others had arranged for proxy students, who were proficient in English, to take the written test for genuine candidates with the help of some Exam Day Supervisors (TDS) and writing examiners appointed by the testing agency Planet EDU.
According to police documents, the test was conducted in September last year at a hotel in south Gujarat’s Navsari town.
In addition, the SOG investigation revealed that the English speaking tests were also rigged.
The FIR states that speaking test examiner Renu Suri had allowed proxy candidates to appear on behalf of genuine students, the speaking proficiency test was conducted at 10 pm after the end of the actual examination.
Investigation revealed that it was Fernandes who appeared for the English speaking test on behalf of Neil Patel.
“Except Sawan Patel, who holds a BA degree, the other three students from Mehsana are not even graduates. Since they all studied in Gujarati medium, they approached Choudhary to get a high IELTS score so that they could go to Canada on a student visa and then enter the US using their connections there,” Rathod said.
The Mehsana Police SOG had initiated the investigation at the request of the US authorities.
Six students from Gujarat were apprehended in March from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River in Quesne, US, near the Canadian border.
“When he was produced before a court in the US, he failed to answer the questions asked by the judge in English. The court had to take the help of a Hindi translator. The court was appalled as these students had secured bands 6.5 to 7 in IELTS, an English proficiency test,” Rathod said.
Later, citing a news report on the incident, the Criminal Fraud Investigation Unit of US Consulate General A mail was sent to the Mehsana Police in Mumbai to conduct an investigation to find out how these four students from Mehsana got very high marks and which agency or agents were involved, he informed.
All the six students from Gujarat who were arrested earlier are still in the US and working there. The inspector said that he is out on bail and cannot leave the country till the case against him is pending.