Mumbai Police Exam Cheaters Disqualified After Falsely Breaking Mile World Record

Two candidates finished the mile (1600 meters) in just 3 minutes and 42 seconds, thus beating the world record still held by Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj (3 min 43 s 13). A bewildering feat for the police, who opened an investigation, which allowed them to discover that these two candidates had cheated during the race.

To read: Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha Breaks Indoor Mile World Record, Surpassing El Guerrouj’s 20-Year Mark

The Mumbai police initiated a 1,600-meter race, divided into four 400-meter laps as part of a recruitment competition. It uses technology that calculates the race time precisely. With its partner Timing Technologies India Pvt Ltd, which uses an RFID (radio frequency identification) mechanism to automatically identify and track tags with chips attached to the shoes or legs of the candidates, it organized the competition. The chips calculate the race time.

Before the race, each candidate receives a pair of chips to attach to their shoes. According to the police, Nikhil Virendra Yadav and his friend Vikas Devidas Sardar exchanged their chips before each lap. Questioned, the two candidates admitted to cheating and were immediately disqualified.