An alleged mastermind of the Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) scandal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been identified, sources told Aaj News on Sunday.

The suspect has been an employee of the Public Service Commission and the Federal Public Service Commission, they said, and alleged that the person took hundreds of thousands of rupees from many students.

The development came on the day when the second meeting of the joint investigation team (JIT) over the MDCAT scandal was summoned on Sunday. A seven-member JIT was formed on the complaints of parents who were concerned over the reports of covert Bluetooth devices used in the MDCAT exam.

The committee comprises members from the IG Special Branch chairman, the Higher Education Commission special secretary, the health special secretary, and the Home Department additional secretary. Members from the Intelligence Bureau and Khyber Medical University are also part of the committee.

The committee is tasked to uncover the characters behind the people involved in MDCAT cheating. It has to submit a report within seven days.

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Sources while sharing details of the suspect added that the person who ran the network belonged to KP’s Karak district. He was apparently fired from his service because of illegal activities.

They added that the suspect was aware of loopholes in the testing system and was an expert in high-jacking the tests.

The suspect allegedly imported covert Bluetooth devices from China and lured medical test candidates in the academies to cheat. The suspect also used to send his men into the hall for leaking the exam.

On Friday, the Peshawar High Court withheld the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council from announcing the results of the MDCAT amid the cheating controversy.

The authorities have claimed to have caught several suspected of cheating by using covert Bluetooth devices as thousands of aspirants appeared in the MDCAT exams.

Soon after the MDCAT results were announced by PMDC, many social media users took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their concerns over the results in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for which over 40,000 candidates showed up.

They compared the results of 2023 and 2022 to substantiate their argument pertaining to the high marks apparently secured by students.