An exam "solver" was caught red-handed on Wednesday while appearing in the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) examination on behalf of a candidate here, officials said.

The accused, identified as Pramod Kumar, a resident of Azamgarh district, was taking the examination in place of Vimal Kumar of Farrukhabad district when discrepancies were detected during verification at the exam centre, they said.

According to officials, the fraud came to light during biometric and document verification conducted after the commencement of the examination at Islamia Girls Inter College examination centre under the Kotwali police station area.

City Magistrate RK Verma said that a team comprising the static magistrate and college authorities became suspicious of the candidate's behaviour during routine verification.

A detailed examination of his Aadhaar card, admit card and biometric details revealed that he was impersonating another candidate.

"The accused was immediately detained and handed over to the police for further investigation," Verma said.

During questioning, Pramod allegedly confessed that he had struck a deal worth Rs 1.5 lakh with Vimal Kumar to appear in the examination on his behalf.

He told investigators that he had already received an advance payment and was to be paid the remaining amount after successfully clearing the examination.

Police have taken the accused into custody and initiated legal proceedings.

Efforts are also underway to trace and apprehend the actual candidate, officials said.

The TGT examination commenced across Bareilly district on June 3.

Authorities had made arrangements for 32,365 candidates at 20 examination centres.

Stringent security measures, including CCTV surveillance and deployment of static magistrates, were put in place to ensure a fair and transparent conduct of the examination.