Ahmedabad: A two-hour railway recruitment test allegedly remained “alive” on a computer server for more than 48 hours — leaving a window wide open for answers to be altered, candidates to be favoured and an examination meant to be tamper-proof to be manipulated, a CBI investigation has found.The alleged manipulation came to light during a probe into the Nov 22, 2024 departmental examination for the post of diesel mechanic grade III conducted by Western Railway. The railway vigilance department had flagged irregularities in the Computer Based Test (CBT), following which the CBI registered an FIR and began investigating the alleged examination racket.The forensic examination of the server revealed a string of security breaches. Investigators found that the examination session for 178 candidates was not closed immediately after the two-hour test, as required under the protocol, but remained open for more than two days.“After the examination, the session did not end for more than two days. In fact, it should have ended immediately after the end of exam,” an officer said.What made the extended server window more suspicious was the presence of remote-access software. Investigators found that AnyDesk was installed on the new server, despite such software not being authorised. Its presence potentially allowed the machine to be accessed remotely after the examination.The forensic report found AnyDesk login sessions between the examination date and the eventual closure of the exam sessions, according to the investigation.The server was also found to have an active internet connection during the period, although the proposal for conducting the examination required it to be disconnected. Investigators also found that critical user login IDs during the post-examination period were missing.The probe brought several railway officials under the scanner, including then senior divisional personnel officer Jitesh Agrawal, IT database assistant Navroz Kurani, retired chief OS (IT) K P Manoj Narayanan and senior clerk Mahendra Kumar Shirshat.Investigators alleged that Shirshat collected money from candidates. One candidate, Farhan Mansuri, has also drawn attention after allegedly securing exceptionally high marks. He had taken a loan shortly before the examination.The CBI booked the accused under provisions of the BNS and the Prevention of Corruption Act.The agency registered three FIRs in Dec 2025 in connection with alleged irregularities in the departmental examination, with senior railway officers among those accused. The investigation is continuing, and several other officials from Western Railway’s division remain under the CBI scanner.
