CBI unearths BSF recruitment scam in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday busted a huge recruitment racket in the Border Security Force (BSF) and other Central para military organisations in Bengaluru and arrested a constable of BSF and a proprietor of a private coaching centre in the city for bribery and other offences.

The CBI, on receiving a complaint from the BSF, Subsidiary Training Centre (STC) that a constable of the same BSF unit, in collusion with a coaching centre, was extorting money from the applicants for constables in the ongoing recruitment process intercepted the accused, while he was entering the coaching centre in Vidyaranyapura and arrested him under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) r/w 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections. 8, 12 and 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

On interrogation the accused, who is the security aide to the Chief Medical Officer, BSF, STC, Bengaluru, informed the CBI sleuths that he was working at the behest of the proprietor of a coaching centre, who had promised to pay him Rs 30,000 per candidate for clearing them in the medical board examination for recruitment to the BSF.

The CBI conducted searches at the premises of the accused and others including the coaching centre and seized around 117 fake rubber stamps in the names of various government and other authorities, such as deputy commissioner, additional deputy commissioner, tehsildar, circle inspectors, police sub inspectors, medical officers, principals, head masters of various educational institutions, notaries, election officers, State seals, fake voter ID cards, Adhaar cards, PAN cards, educational certificates, income certificates, caste certificates, holograms with the State emblem and cash to the tune of '50,000, along with a list of 30 applicants, who were to appear before the medical board at BSF, STC Bengaluru on May 12. "The coaching centre with the insider's help was running a huge recruitment racket for gullible applicants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana," said a CBI spokesperson.

The accused were later produced before the Special Judge, CBI Bengaluru and remanded to police custody for 10 days.