Thiruvananthapuram: The Special Investigation Team on Saturday arrested three accused, including a kingpin, from Haryana in connection with the recent impersonation and cheating cases in the recruitment test for vacancies at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here.
The probe team nabbed the kingpin from Haryana on Saturday and initiated proceedings to produce him before a court there seeking a transit remand, a senior official from the district said.
"Three of them have been arrested-Lakhwinder, Rishipal and Deepak Sheokand-, the official told PTI.
He also said that Sheokand is the kingpin and they will be brought here in a day or two for further interrogation.
Specially fabricated electronic device and custom-made shirts to accommodate camera lens were some of the features used as part of an "organised" plan to impersonate candidates and cheat in recruitment test for vacancies in the VSSC, police had earlier said.
Six persons were arrested from Kerala earlier this week in connection with the matter.
While two were arrested on August 20 after being caught red-handed, from two separate centres, impersonating candidates and cheating in the test, the arrest of two others was recorded on August 21.
Two more persons were arrested subsequently and all of them hail from Haryana.
Thiruvananthapuram city Police Commissioner, Nagaraju Chakilam, had earlier said that a huge amount of money was also involved in the crime as it was evident from the fact that the accused arrived here by flight a couple of days before the test.
Chakilam had given details of how the accused carried out the manipulations to ensure that they cleared the recruitment test for those who paid them for it.
"They used a specially fabricated electronic device and earpiece and the mobile phone camera lens. The camera lens, the earpiece and somebody elsewhere were connected to the device. The shirts had custom-made button holes to accommodate the camera lens.
"All the preparations indicate that the techniques and the device have been used in many other places. The device itself is not a new one, but appears used. It is also not a branded item and looks to be locally fabricated for this purpose by a technical expert," the Police Commissioner had said.
The special device also had a sim card enabling it to relay the questions outside and receive the answers in the earpiece, he had said.
After the impersonation and cheating came to light, police on Monday had launched a full-fledged probe and VSSC later, on the same day, cancelled the exam.
VSSC, the lead centre for the development of ISRO's launch vehicles, in a notification had said that the written test to the posts of technician-B, draughtsman-B and radiographer-A that was held on August 20 at various centres in Thiruvananthapuram stands cancelled.
As more than 400 candidates from a single state -- Haryana -- had taken the test, there are suspicions over whether coaching centres may be involved.
A case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and various other provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act has been registered against those arrested.
The national-level recruitment test was held only in Kerala at 10 exam centres across the state.
(with PTI inputs)
