'4,000 admitted to medical, dental colleges with help of leaked question papers’
Police have interrogated the three accused arrested on charges of leaking admission test question papers of Dhaka University, medical and dental colleges and obtained a list of 78 admission seekers from them.
The three accused informed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police on Friday, their first day of seven-day remand, that that they had received Tk 45 million from the 78 students in exchange of leaked question, said the investigation officers.
Confirming this, CID cybercrime unit additional police superintendent Kamrul Ahsan told Prothom Alo that the gang used to take around Tk 500,000 to 700,000 from an admission seeker for a leaked question paper.
According to CID, Jashim Uddin Bhuiyan alias Munnu, the leader of the gang, Parvez Khan and Zakir Hossain confessed this to police during their remand.
An investigation officer told Prothom Alo that at least 4,000 students were admitted to several medical and dental colleges through answering the question papers leaked by this gang from 2013 to 2018.
The CID official said machine operator Abdus Salam used to leak questions papers from Directorate General of Health Services’ printing press. Then his cousin Jasim Uddin would circulate the questions papers across the country in exchange of hefty amount of money. Salam and Jasim established a network countywide in this purpose.
Abdus Salam is now in hiding.
The CID said they had been informed about nearly 50 members of the gang. They seized cheques from the arrestees provided by 78 students.
More than one official involved in the investigation said CID conducted raids at hostels of the several medical and dental colleges with the arrestees. But, they were informed that the students went homes due to coronavirus outbreak.
The officials also said, CID also raided various areas in the capital to detain associates of the accused, but no one could be detained.
Drives will be conducted at the village homes of the students after collecting their addresses, the officials added.
Sources familiar to the investigation said at least 4,000 students were admitted to the medical and dental colleges with the help of the Salam gang between 2013 and 2018.
In 2017, CID first started a probe into the Dhaka University’s question papers leak. After the investigation, the detectives pressed charges against 125 people. Some 46 of the 47 detainees then recorded their confessional statements before the court.
Some of the arrestees revealed key information about question paper leak of the medical and dental colleges.
CID later detected the gang in 2018. After two years on 19 July, the detectives detained the first member of the question paper leak network, SM Sanowar.
Sanowar gave vital information about the question paper leak in 2013, 2015, and 2017, according to CID officials.
On his information, CID conducted raid in the capital’s Mirpur on 20 July this year and detained Jasim Uddin alias Munnu, Parvez Khan and Zakir Hossain Mohaiminul.
They had retrieved information about Jasim’s 27 bank accounts, Parvez’s 10 and Zakir’s 11. CID has also sought information to the Bangladesh Bank as to whether they had any other bank accounts, the sources added.
The intelligence body filed a case against 14 people with Mirpur police station. As many as 200 people were also made accused in the case.
Sanowar and Mohaiminul have already been sent to jail after they recorded their confessional statements.