Patna: A new and disturbing pattern has emerged in Bihar’s competitive examination fraud cases, with investigation agencies finding that exam mafias are increasingly using women as a shield to operate their solver networks.The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has found the involvement of several women in alleged irregularities linked to the BPSC assistant public sanitation and waste management officer examination, assistant education development officer (AEDO), the havildar instructor recruitment examination and the NEET-UG re-examination controversy. Women were allegedly being used for multiple tasks—from entering examination centres and passing answer keys to candidates to collecting admit cards, storing digital evidence and even appearing as proxy candidates, according to the officials.One of the most significant revelations came during the BPSC assistant public sanitation and waste management officer examination at A N College in Patna on April 23, 2026. A woman biometric operator, Anshu Priya, was caught inside the examination hall while providing an answer key to candidate Roshan Kumar.A case was registered at S K Puri police station, following which the EOU took up the investigation.The EOU found that Anshu was in contact with alleged middleman Atul Raj Pandey, a biometric staff member, and an answer key had been sent to her through WhatsApp.Her questioning and the subsequent arrest of Atul helped investigators uncover the wider network. The person who allegedly sent the answer key to Anshu has also been identified and is being searched for.The arrest of alleged exam fixer Atul, who was working as a biometric operator at an examination centre in Kankarbagh, also brought another woman, Deepika Kumari, his colleague and a biometric staff member, under the scanner. She was also allegedly linked to the AEDO exam held between April 14 and 21, 2026. But it was cancelled after the examination paper allegedly leaked in Nalanda district.Forensic examination of a mobile phone seized from the examination centre revealed digital evidence linked to earlier examination fraud cases. The EOU is now investigating Deepika’s alleged links with different members of the solver syndicate and determining how long she had been associated with the network.In the havildar instructor examination conducted by the Bihar Police Subordinate Services Commission (BPSSC) on July 29, investigators found the name of Riya Kumari during forensic analysis of the mobile phone of alleged middleman Raj Samdarshi alias Raja.According to the investigation, Riya had exchanged WhatsApp messages with Raja and allegedly sent him PDF files containing the admit cards of four candidates. She asked him which question set would be assigned to those candidates.Riya has been named as an accused in the case, and efforts are reportedly underway to arrest her.The investigation into the NEET-UG re-examination controversy has also brought two women—Madhupuriya and Poonam—into focus. The re-examination was conducted nationwide on June 21, 2026, following the cancellation of the original May 3 exam due to a major question paper leak and subsequent massive public and political uproar.Madhupuriya, who was a NEET aspirant, is reportedly the wife of alleged exam mafia operative Dr Ravishankar Samrat. Instead of appearing herself, a medical college student, Poonam, was caught taking the examination on her behalf.EOU found that Poonam had been promised Rs2 lakh, with Rs25,000 allegedly paid as an advance. Further investigation also indicated Madhupuriya’s alleged involvement in another examination-related irregularity.ADG of EOU, Amit Kumar Jain, said, “The examination racketeers might have started recruiting women because female personnel working inside examination centres may attract comparatively less suspicion from security personnel and static magistrates.”The syndicates allegedly exploit this perceived advantage by bringing women biometric operators, intermediaries and proxy candidates into their network.Jain added, “However, we don’t differentiate between male and female accused. Both are same in the eyes of law.”
