A video of numerous students cheating during an examination has now gone viral on social media with a misleading claim that it shows mass cheating during a Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination in Uttar Pradesh.
BOOM found that the video captures a mass cheating incident that occurred at City Law College in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, in February this year during a law examination.
The video shows a person recording the entire incident of mass cheating, where students can be seen with guides and cheat sheets, jotting down answers on their desks during the examination. The individual also specifies that the incident is taking place at City Law College in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh.
The video is being shared with a caption, "UPSE exam’s malpractices that’s why maximum IAS, IPS officers from north. ——— please share on all groups n status … This is how the UP Govt. Works ……. …….. what more can B expected from such bruts…. Share". (sic.)
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a related keyword search and found several news bulletins from February this year reporting about the mass cheating that took place in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki.
On February 29, 2024, Hindi news channel AajTak aired the video, reporting that the incident took place at a college in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. According to the report, students taking the LLB examination were openly cheating in the presence of teachers on February 27.
According to a report from ETV Bharat, Shivam Singh, a student in the fifth semester of the three-year LLB program at TRC Law College, recorded the entire cheating incident on camera. Singh claimed that when he visited the college to collect his admit card on February 21, the principal summoned him to the office and requested money to allow him to cheat during the examination. However, Singh declined to pay, and he did not receive his admit card.
The report also mentioned that when Singh revisited the college on February 26, he was instructed to proceed directly to the examination center, where his admit card would be provided. However, upon reaching the examination center, City Law College, on February 27, he did not receive his admit card. Singh further observed that a mass cheating was taking place in the rooms, among students and guides being present.
According to a Dainik Bhaskar report from March 8, 2024, the law examination held on February 27 at City Law College, Barabanki, was cancelled after the live broadcast of mass cheating on Facebook.
Additionally, the report stated that the authorities decided not to consider the college as an examination center for the next six years and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the City Law College.