The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force has arrested two directors of ASSESS Infra Pvt Ltd as it widens its investigation into an alleged organised cheating network involving Staff Selection Commission online recruitment examinations.
The two accused, identified by the STF as Gagandeep Sharma and Yadvendra Singh, were arrested in Gautam Buddh Nagar on September 22. Investigators allege that their company played a key role in selecting examination centres used for SSC tests and continued assigning centres despite earlier evidence of malpractice linked to people operating them.
The arrests stem from a May raid at Balaji Digital Zone in Greater Noida, where seven people were arrested over an alleged scheme using proxy servers and remote access to help candidates cheat in SSC examinations. Police had seized ₹50 lakh in cash, laptops, phones and other material during that operation.
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Exam centre selection now under investigation
According to the STF press note, SSC online examinations are conducted through an agency called Eduquity, which had an agreement with ASSESS Infra for selecting examination centres across northern India.
ASSESS Infra was responsible for identifying centres, carrying out security audits and verifying operators and staff before those facilities were used for examinations.
The STF alleges that Balaji Digital Zone in Greater Noida was selected through ASSESS Infra and had conducted 16 SSC examinations since 2025.
Investigators further allege that prescribed payments for conducting those examinations were not made to the centre in the normal manner. Instead, the STF claims security requirements were deliberately relaxed, enabling the centre operator to collect money from candidates and arrange cheating.
Those claims remain allegations under investigation and have not been established by a court.
Earlier Dehradun cheating case raised red flags
The STF says the Greater Noida case was not the first warning involving people linked to the same network.
In April 2026, police in Dehradun uncovered another alleged exam-cheating operation at Mahadev Digital Zone. Investigators said a proxy server had been installed to give outside solvers access to candidates’ computer screens.
A criminal case was registered at Kotwali Dehradun, and Pradeep Chauhan emerged as one of the main accused, according to the STF press note.
The agency now alleges that despite information about that case, ASSESS Infra later selected another laboratory linked to Chauhan — Balaji Digital Zone in Greater Noida — as an examination centre.
That decision has become a central part of the case against the company directors.
The STF alleges that the repeated selection of centres associated with the same accused, despite earlier cheating allegations, points to possible collusion rather than a simple failure of due diligence.
How the proxy-server cheating allegedly worked
The May investigation revealed a method designed to avoid directly hacking the SSC’s main examination infrastructure.
According to police, operators installed a proxy server at the examination centre and used screen-sharing technology to make candidates’ examination screens available to solvers sitting elsewhere.
Those solvers could then see questions remotely and allegedly help candidates select correct answers during the examination.
Investigators said candidates were allegedly charged around ₹4 lakh each for guaranteed assistance.
This kind of arrangement is different from a conventional paper leak.
Instead of stealing the question paper before the exam, the alleged network manipulated the environment inside an authorised computer-based test centre after the examination had begun.
That makes control over centre selection, technical audits and network security especially important.
Investigation has spread across several states
The STF says the wider investigation has already produced links to examination centres in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi.
Ten accused had already been arrested in the broader case before the two ASSESS Infra directors were taken into custody, according to the September 22 press note.
Investigators have also recovered modified TFT devices and other equipment allegedly associated with examination manipulation.
In July, the STF arrested another accused in Rajasthan who was allegedly involved in supplying modified electronic devices used in the SSC cheating network. That investigation was also linked back to the May 22 Balaji Digital Zone raid.
The case has been registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Information Technology Act, Uttar Pradesh Public Examination law and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The latest arrests shift the investigation beyond the people allegedly operating a rogue examination centre.
The more significant question now is whether failures in the process used to select and monitor centres were accidental or whether people responsible for that process knowingly helped the cheating network operate.
What this means for you: Candidates appearing for computer-based government recruitment exams should report any unusual instructions, unauthorised software or suspicious activity inside examination centres. The case also shows why exam security depends not only on SSC’s central servers but on the private centres and contractors handling tests on the ground.
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