Overview
- Officers say the group used consumer AI and photo‑editing apps such as Remini, Fotor, Mixr/Mixx and ChatGPT to morph images so impostors could pass facial and biometric checks with roughly 70% resemblance.
- The case opened on October 5 when an impersonator, Abhishek Kumar from Gaya, was caught at a Lucknow exam centre, leading investigators to the wider inter‑state network.
- Ten suspects have been held, including alleged mastermind Anand Kumar, an assistant manager with UP Gramin Bank, with police alleging he recruited bank staff to coordinate the operation.
- Investigators report fees reaching about ₹5.2 lakh per candidate with set charges for prelims, mains and job‑placement facilitation, and payments shared among organisers, proxies and middlemen.
- Police seized multiple digital devices and identity documents and have booked the accused for forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy under the IPC and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, while tracing additional suspects across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand.