The probe so far has revealed no transparency was maintained by the agency which took the exam, as the CCTV of the hall was turned off during the exam.
Mumbai: The Gujarat Police has launched a probe after six people of the state failed to speak English before the US court. The probe has been launched at the request of the American authorities to uncover an alleged racket in which ineligible students are getting help to acquire high scores in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to obtain admission to colleges in Canada so that they can be then smuggled into the US, an official said.
The IELTS is an internationally standardized test of English proficiency for non-native English speakers, where a good score is required for admission to good colleges in different countries.
The investigation so far has found that the agency administering the exam was not transparent because CCTV surveillance of the room was turned off during the exam last September, the agency said. Inspector Bhavesh Rathod of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the police by Mehsana, who is conducting the investigation here.
In March this year, US border officials arrested six youths from Gujarat in an unsuccessful attempt to secure them illegal entry into the country from Canada.
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The police said that the six young men appeared for exam in south Gujarat’s Navsari town on September 25, 2021, and went to Canada on student visa on March 19 this year, nearly two weeks before they were caught at the US-Canada border.
“When they were brought before a court in the United States, they did not answer the judge’s question in English. The court had to enlist the help of a Hindi translator. The court was stunned that these students had obtained 6.5 to 7 bands in IELTS, an English proficiency test, “Rathod said.
Subsequently, citing a news story about the incident, the Criminal Fraud Investigation Unit of the United States Consulate General in Mumbai sent an email to the Mehsana Police to conduct an investigation to find out how these four Mehsana students received very high scores. and what agency or agents were involved, Rathod inquired.
“Even bright students have to work hard to get 5 or 6 bands into the IELTS. These four students, residing in different villages of Mehsana, managed to get a score between 6.5 and 7, but still could not communicate in English, “said Rathod.
The owners of the agency, located in Sabarmati area of Ahmedabad, have been directed to appear before Mehsana SOG within 48 hours with related documents as part of the investigation.
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