Three clerks at the Nagpur army recruitment office had leaked the question paper to an academy owner, who had struck a deal of Rs 1.35 crore with them for it, Thane police's investigation into the scam has revealed
Graphic/Ravi Jadhav
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Three clerks at the Nagpur army recruitment office had leaked the question paper to an academy owner, who had struck a deal of Rs 1.35 crore with them for it, Thane police's investigation into the scam has revealed.
It was also found that the racket was active during the March 2016 exams as well, wherein 50 students had got the paper beforehand and 48 of them had passed. The clerks had been paid Rs 50 lakh then.
Modus operandi
The three clerks have been identified as Ravindra Kumar, Dharamveer Singh and Nigamkunar Pandey. "We found that Kumar himself used to approach the aspirants, giving the lure of question papers in advance for a price. Santosh Shinde, who runs Raje Chatrapati Academy in Satara, had come to know about Kumar doing this and found him during the Bhandara recruitment. He had approached Kumar and got papers in 2016 as well as this year," said Thane police commissioner Parambir Singh.
When the papers would go for printing, the clerks would prepare a CD, take printouts and send them to Shinde. "It's been confirmed during investigation that Shinde had given the clerks Rs 50 lakh in March 2016 and that Kumar is the main accused. Fifty students were given the paper last year and 48 of them entered the army by cheating. This year, Shinde had assured the clerks Rs 1.35 crore, which he admitted to during interrogation," added Singh.
Singh also said they are in touch with army officers and exchanging vital information about the racket. "They have given us the green signal to take the clerks' custody. We are waiting for the court order. As soon as we do, assistant commissioner of police, Thane crime branch, Mukund Hatote and senior inspector Nitin Thakre will go to Nagpur to take them in custody," he said.
Blown open
The Thane police found that 17 to 18 army recruitment academies were involved in the racket and were in touch with Shinde and Kumar. "We are also checking past cases. We have asked army authorities to share details about the 48 aspirants who passed by cheating; we will ensure their service is terminated," said Singh.
Dakhlu Patil, a constable with Assam Rifles, is also involved and was in touch with Shinde. He used to bring aspirants interested in getting the question paper to Shinde. "During investigation, it was found that Patil also runs Shaurya army recruitment academy in Sangli. We are in constant touch with senior army officers in Delhi, who are co-operating in the investigation. It was found that the entire racket was run from Phaltan and Nagpur with the kingpin Shinde being approached by different academies for getting the papers for their students," said Singh.
The 350 aspirants, who were detained for their role in the scam, have been asked to remain present for recording of statement. "Most are sons or relatives of ex-army personnel. The arrested include an armyman and an ex-armyman. Investigation is going on to find out for how many years this racket was run," said an officer from Thane crime branch.
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