The Hyderabad City Police on Sunday, June 21, apprehended an 18-year-old NEET candidate after he was caught engaging in malpractice at ZPHS in Ragannaguda, under the Adibatla Police Station limits. The student who managed to sneak in a mobile phone was caught using it inside the washroom.
According to the police, the accused student came to the school around 7 am and placed a mobile phone in the washroom ventilator. He was able to access the ventilator as it was adjacent to the school compound wall, police said. Later, at around 11 am, he entered the washroom, retrieved the phone, concealed it in a zip-lock cover and hid it inside the flush tank.
Police said that although security teams had thoroughly inspected the premises twice — once at 6 am and again at 11 am — they failed to detect the phone hidden inside the flush tank.
During the examination, the accused complained of stomach pain and sought permission to use the washroom.
However, the invigilator became suspicious when the student did not return promptly. As he spent an unusually long time inside, the invigilator sent staff members to check on him. They allegedly caught him in the washroom using the mobile phone to search for answers.
Police were subsequently alerted. The phone was seized and the student was detained.
“A thorough inspection of the device revealed that he was using Google Chrome to search for answers, with no other active applications of concern besides Instagram. The accused confessed to the act during interrogation and is currently in police custody,” police said.
Following a complaint by the school administration, police registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (cheating) and Section 10 read with Section 3 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.