Six persons, including a few candidates, were arrested on Sunday for allegedly attempting to cheat in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) examination in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, police said.

Eight mobile phones, four Bluetooth-enabled devices, three Bluetooth earpieces and more electronic gadgets were seized from them, an official said.

Some of the arrested persons were taking the exam. They transmitted the questions by reading them out, while their accomplices looked up the answers and relayed them back, he said.

GATE is a prestigious national-level examination. It assesses candidates for a comprehensive understanding of different undergraduate-level subjects such as Engineering, Technology, Science, Commerce, Arts, Architecture and Humanities.

“Acting on a tip-off, the police maintained discreet surveillance around the examination centre under the DD Nagar police station limits. They spotted a few individuals in suspicious circumstances carrying electronic devices,” the official said.

Devices used for facilitating cheating were seized from them. During interrogation, the individuals disclosed the names of their associates who were taking the GATE exam at the centre, he said.

Police subsequently seized concealed Bluetooth devices used to send questions and receive answers from outside, he said.

The arrested persons have been identified as Darshan Sehwag, Sumit Sehwag, Laxminarayan, alias Lucky, Amar, Narendra Kumar and Bunty Kumar, all residents of Haryana.

A case has been registered against the six under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, the official said, adding that a probe is underway.