Kollam: Job fraud in the name of Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) is spreading across the state with several candidates receiving fake appointment orders for various posts in the force.
The “joining orders” contain a direction to pay money to complete the selection process evading any tests including written examination. The candidates who received the fake appointment letters are among those who applied for jobs under ‘technician’ category based on a notification issued in 2014, which is also learnt to be a fake recruitment drive. The candidates received phone calls from unidentified numbers from North India, demanding immediate payment of money “to ensure that the opportunity is not lost”.
“I had applied for the post of ‘technician’ with the ITBP based on an advertisement that appeared in many prominent career publications in Malayalam and other languages in 2014. Now an appointment order has been received that exactly resembles the original order sent by the Force. I received phone calls demanding Rs 25,000 for processing the appointment, which is also mentioned in the letter,” Nithin Krishna of Karunagappally told this newspaper.
The candidates who received the phone calls demanding money were also given instruction not to share this “exclusive offer” with other soldiers. Mr Nithin contacted the ITBP Unit in Nooranad from where he came to know about the fraud. The unit has started an investigation into the matter.
The official website of ITBP mentions that the selection in ITBP is fair and strictly on the basis of merit only. ITBP is not charging money for selection except recruitment fee. Candidates should not fall prey to unscrupulous persons posing as recruitment agents.
For any complaint against such persons they may lodge complaint at nearest police station, the website urged. ITBPF raised in1962 is deployed on border guarding duties along the Indo-China Border and is also in the forefront of relief operations in the country.
