Man Behind Matric Paper Leak in Karachi Arrested

It surfaced on Thursday that authorities in Karachi had allegedly discovered a network of a “organised cheating mafia” in the city and had taken into custody one of the multiple suspected agents responsible for the leak of matriculation documents.

The suspect, who is reportedly studying artificial intelligence, was taken into custody following inquiries into allegations of organised cheating and the leak of papers related to classes IX and X, according to sources.

SSP-Central According to Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqi, Sharjeel Rehman was taken into custody by the police, who also took four cell phones and a laptop from him.

The suspect admitted to have leaked exam papers for classes IX and X online about 30 minutes prior to the exam’s start during questioning.

An AI student is detained by the police for sharing exam papers on WhatsApp groups.

According to the SSP, the suspect was the group administrator of the WhatsApp group 2k24, where he shared the solved solutions for the leaked papers.

The administrators of the same WhatsApp group, Sufiyan and Fayaz Jamali, were the other suspects he named. The SSP stated, “The detained suspect is taking AI courses himself.”

When a senior government official visited an examination centre on May 14 and discovered that pupils were using various WhatsApp groups for cheating, it revealed the identity of the suspect, Sharjeel, and his WhatsApp group.

Deputy Commissioner-Central Fuad Soomro reported to Karachi Commissioner Hasan Naqvi that he had visited an examination centre at the Government Boys Secondary School in New Karachi and discovered that students were using their phones to cheat. The report was copied to the chairman of the Board of Secondary Education in Karachi as well as the SSP-Central.

“More investigation revealed numerous hundreds-member Whastapp groups where papers were exchanged ahead of schedule and solved papers were distributed to students during exam hours, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,” the speaker said.

The DC went on to say that by sharing solved papers, the WhatsApp groups were encouraging and assisting cheating. With the cooperation of the superintendent and invigilators of their individual exam centres, students then access these papers in the examination halls.

Four WhatsApp groups with almost 2,000 members were run by seven individuals that the DC had identified, claiming that “these groups and admins are part of the organised cheating mafia.”

The DC had suggested that the Federal Investigation Agency and the Anti-Corruption Establishment conduct a comprehensive investigation in order to prosecute public servants and private citizens who are members of the “organised cheating mafia.”