Accused Sister Duo in Chhattisgarh PWD Cheating Gate Misidentified as Muslims

Fact-Check: Local police denied that the two accused were Muslim and noted that they identified as Hindus.

(Source: The Quint) 

A video is going viral on social media showing a woman in a head scarf who was allegedly caught utilising technology, such as a walkie-talkie and a digital tablet, to assist a candidate in cheating during a government job examination in Chhattisgarh.

• In the clip, those filming can be heard inquiring about the woman's name and threatening to call the police.

The claim: Those sharing the video claimed that Hindus are asked to take off everything before entering an examination hall. While Muslims are allowed to wear Burqas.

• It further noted that in Chhattisgarh, a camera and microphone were found on a girl wearing a burqa inside a government job examination centre.

• She was helped by another girl sitting inside a rickshaw with a tablet and a walkie-talkie.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false. Local police told The Quint that the identity of the accused was Hindu and not Muslim, as claimed.

What we found: At first, we divided the clip into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We were led to an Instagram post by Hindi khabar live from 17 July which featured the same clip as the viral video.

• The caption noted that an incident took place in the Sarkanda police station area of Bilaspur when a young woman hid a camera in her undergarments and asked her sister to tell the answers via a wireless device.

• This was undertaken during the Public Works Department (PWD) Sub-Engineer Examination in the state.

• We ran a relevant keyword search and found reports by Dainik Jagran, the Indian Express and the Times of India from 14 July which noted that two sisters from Jashpur - Anu Suriya (26) and her sibling Anuradha (23) were arrested on the same date in Bilaspur.

• They attempted to cheat in a departmental exam for deputy engineer positions conducted by the Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board.

• Their plan involved Anu secretly scanning the question paper using her smartphone inside the exam hall and transmitting it to Anuradha, who sat outside in an auto-rickshaw.

• The woman carried a tablet, wireless headset, mini earbuds, and a wireless set, all purchased online for roughly ₹60,000. The younger sister searched for answers on Google and relayed them back via the wireless setup.

• The scheme unravelled when an auto-rickshaw driver, who was hired to transport the siblings, noticed their unusual electronic gear and alerted the NSUI.

• The NSUI team confronted them, recorded video evidence of the wireless set and tablet.

• Simultaneously, within the examination venue, supervisors were alerted by the student wing.

• A group frisked Anu and discovered the spy camera and earpiece. A police spokesperson indicated that she finished almost 100 questions only 15 minutes prior to the exam's conclusion.

• The two were handed over to the Sarkanda police. Subsequently, the sisters were booked under Sections 318 (2 - cheating) and 112 (2 - petty organised crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

• The reports did not mention anything about the sibling duo's religious identity.

Local police denies claim: The Quint reached out to Sarkanda police's Station House Officer (SHO) Nilesh Pandey who denied the communal claim that the accused were Muslim. He said, "The two girls are Hindu and have been arrested."

Conclusion: Social media users have misidentified the accused in the Chhattisgarh PWD cheating gate as Muslims and given a communal spin to the case.

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