Upon probe, Mehsana police found irregularities in the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exams in seven centers including ones in Rajkot, Vadodara, Mehsana, Ahmedabad, Navsari, Nadiad, and Anand.
Officers reveal that at least 950 candidates are under suspicion of scoring good marks by bribing the authorities with paying Rs14 lakh each. All of the students are now in either the US or Canada.
Sources share that the first case of dishonesty came to attention when a dummy student was caught taking the exam in Nadiad. It was later found that in both the centers, CCTV was switched off to facilitate dummy candidates in Navsari and Mehsana. The mastermind behind this scam is a man from Mehsana who is in the realty business.
The police began an investigation after it was reported that illegal immigrants from North Gujarat had required a translator in the US Court despite scoring high IELTS bands of seven and eight. They had reportedly given the exam in September last year, sources reveal.
The officers say that the Mehsana police were asked to investigate the case after the US consulate general had asked the former to do so.
A police officer said this scam of issuing IELTS certificates to US and Canada aspirants has been going on for nearly five years.
The police officer further explained that the candidates are required to pay Rs 14 lakh each. The agents working for the Mehsana man collect the money from aspirants.
The entire fiasco began when six men who went to Canada on student visas were nabbed by agencies on April 28. They were rescued from a sinking boat in the St Regis by the agencies of Canada and the US. They were attempting to illegally cross into the US from Canada.
Also Read : Four Youth Unlawfully Clear IELTS, Are Caught At US Border
