CBI had issued a 'Look Out Circular' against Russian national Mikhail Shargin, suspected to be the main hacker, for alleged manipulation of the prestigious examination.
The CBI on Monday arrested a Russian national in connection with its probe into alleged manipulation of JEE (Mains) examination last year, officials said. The central agency had issued a 'Look Out Circular' against Mikhail Shargin, suspected to be the main hacker, for alleged manipulation of the prestigious examination, they said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was alerted by the Bureau of Immigration when Shargin arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Almaty, Kazakhstan, at 1:20 am, they said, adding that he was immediately detained by the CBI and was questioned in connection with the JEE manipulation case.
"During investigation, it came to light that some foreign nationals were involved in compromising many online examinations, including JEE (Mains), colluding with other accused in the instant case," a CBI spokesperson said.
So far, 24 people have been arrested — Mikhail Shargin, 25, is the central figure — for helping 820 candidates cheat. The CBI said Mr Shargin has not been cooperating with the investigators.
The investigation indicated that Shargin had allegedly tampered with the iLeon software, the platform on which the JEE (Main)-2021 examination was conducted, and also helped other accused in hacking the computer systems of suspect candidates during the examination, the officials said.