Nine persons have been arrested in Assam in a case of alleged corruption and forgery at the state’s Gauhati University, The Hindu reported.

The arrests were made in Guwahati, Barpeta, Kalgachia, and Dhubri. Among those arrested were Gauhati University employee Krishan Krishnamurti, Dhubri Law College staffer Shivtosh Mahato and Aminul Islam, the librarian of a college in Dhubri.

The case pertains to allegations that the marks of students at the university were inflated in exchange for money. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed details about the alleged scam during a visit to the Barpeta district on Thursday.

The allegations came to light after a teacher at Barpeta’s Ganeshlal Chaudhary College detected the forged marks of an undergraduate student named Azizul Haque, The New Indian Express reported. The college authorities alerted the police, after which Haque was arrested.

Teachers at the college said the student initially admitted to them that he paid Rs 10,000 to get his marks increased. However, he later denied having paid money to anyone.

The chief minister said in Barpeta on Thursday that six to seven cases came to light in the district, and that the prime accused person has been arrested, PTI reported. The prime accused person is said to have been in charge of a company responsible for the university’s computerised marksheet system.

“Those responsible for running the computerised marksheet system, take money and increase the marks,” Sarma said. “…Even an operator can change the marks in the system used by GU [Gauhati University].”

Allegations of malpractices at the Gauhati University have emerged amid country-wide concerns about irregularities in competitive examinations, especially the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admissions to undergraduate medical courses.

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