The Centre on Tuesday blocked Telegram messaging app across India until June 22. It asked the platform to disable its message editing feature until June 30. NEET-UG re-exam will be held throughout India this Sunday (June 21).
The measure to block Telegram app was taken after National Testing Agency (NTA) found that several candidates were being cheated by people promising fake question papers.
The Centre has taken massive security steps to ensure a leak-proof, tamper-proof NEET-UG re-exam.
On Tuesday, an IAF transport aircraft, in a mock drill, took sample papers from Delhi to Madurai. From there, an IAF chopper carried them to the exam centre in Tirunelveli.
All question paper setters have been kept in quarantine, with no access to internet or phone and no contact with the outer world.
Multiple sets of question papers have been prepared, stored in a master computer in encrypted form, with limited access to a few individuals. Printing of question papers is being done under strict supervision. All pages carry watermarks, so that the source code can be traced if any leak happens.
Two layers of CRPF and CISF have been deployed during transport of question papers to the designated custodian banks, under GPS tracking process.
Forty-five minutes before the exam, the sealed trunks will be opened inside the strong room in exam centres.
Jammers will be put in place around exam centres to stop mobile signals.
CCTV footage from all centres will be monitored with the help of AI based system.
A central command has been set up to keep a watch on all CCTV feed from centres. None will be allowed to leave the exam hall after the 195-minute retest is over.
The same security chain will be in place while transporting answer sheets under CCTV monitoring of packing and dispatch. They will be airlifted and consignments will be GPS tracked.
The NTA has made foolproof arrangements this time to prevent paper leak, cheating or tampering with answer sheets.
This will be the most secure examination in India in recent times.
Ayodhya donation theft : Catch the big fish
The Special Investigation Team is busy questioning people connected with the counting of cash donations at Ram Lala temple in Ayodhya. On Tuesday, the general secretary of the trust, Champat Rai was interrogated for three hours. The temple manager Gopal Rao was also questioned. Till now, statements of more than 40 staff members have been recorded.
It has come to light that there were five or six persons who committed the theft. Nearly 60 pc donation money was swindled.
The question: Why didn’t members of the Trust had any whiff of this theft? When they came to know about the swindle, why did they try to hush it up?
There are reports that most of those who were involved in the theft were close associates of Champat Rai, who appointed them in the first place. A few days ago, Champat Rai tried to hush up the matter when the matter came to light.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, he has not trust in the SIT findings. Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the successor of Trust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, said, it will be better if devotees of Lord Ram speak on this matter, because Akhilesh Yadav has no right to speak about Ram temple and Hindus.
This argument is fallacious. Had Akhilesh Yadav not opened the can of worms, the theft would have continued for months. It does not matter whether one is a Ram devotee or not. The charges of pilferage are grave and it amounts to playing with the trust of millions of devotees.
Those under the scanner are said to be close to some bigwigs of the Trust. Tinnu Yadav was close to Champat Rai, while Somesh Anand is the nephew of Gopal Rao. It has been alleged that Somesh Anand used to carry cash in train to Karnataka.
There is no doubt the SIT will find out the real culprits, but those who look after the affairs of the Trust are still out of the purview of SIT.
It does not matter whether they siphoned off money personally or not, but why was this theft allowed? Why did they keep their eyes shut? And when the theft came to light, why didn’t they inform the government?
It was only when the matter spilled out in the media and Nripendra Mishra went to Ayodhya that the SIT was constituted. There is something wrong somewhere.
Deepfake videos for religious conversion!
A few days ago, a fake AI generated video of Ayush Malik, son of a businessman in Shamli, UP, emerged on social media.
In this video, Ayush, introducing himself as Mohammed Ali was shown as saying that he opted for Islam on his own, without any external pressure and that he would not leave Islam at any cost.
The fake video appeared on more than 50 social media handles. Soon after another fake video surfaced in which a girl introducing herself as Sabina, sister of Ayush, was shown saying her brother was being tormented unnecessarily as religion is a matter of personal choice. She said, others should not interfere in such personal matters.
When this video reached Ayush’s father Devraj Malik, he was dumbstruck. He has only one daughter, who is married and lives in Noida and Ayush lives with her.
Shamli police found that the AI generated video originated from Nashik, Maharashtra. Nashik police was contacted and it was found that a Maulana had posted it.
The Maulana is now apologizing for his act, but his arrest is certain. On the radar of police is Asif Khan, a local SDPI leader of Kurla, Mumbai. He had also circulated similar fake videos.
Police is now hunting for Sabina. Recently, a video of Sabina appeared in which she apologized for her act.
I would like to make two points here. One, when you find such videos on social media, do not blindly trust them to be true. Two, do not trust such videos when they appear on Facebook, Instagram or Whatsapp. AI generated deepfake videos are made in such a manner that it is difficult for a layman to differentiate between what is true and what’s fake.
I have seen deepfake videos peddling medicines, asking people to invest money in dubious ventures, and offering marriage proposals. This is the first time a deepfake video has emerged to promote religious conversion.
There have been many such deepfake videos impersonating my voice and face on social media. I had to obtain an order from the High Court to get these fake, impersonated videos removed. Whenever I get reports of such fake videos, my legal team gets them stopped within 24 hours.
Mere legal action will not stop this malady. Creating social awareness about what is true and what is fake is necessary.