Rajasthan: Gang duping Agniveer candidates busted; two arrested

Jaipur, Aug 19 (IANS) A major racket cheating aspiring Agniveer candidates under the guise of Indian Army recruitment has been busted on Tuesday.

In a joint operation, Alwar Police, Military Intelligence, and CID (Special Branch) exposed a gang that was extorting lakhs of rupees from candidates by falsely promising recruitment, especially targeting those declared unfit during physical or medical tests.

Two prime accused have been arrested.

District Superintendent of Police Sudhir Chaudhary stated that during the ongoing Agniveer recruitment rally in Alwar (August 5 to 22), special measures were taken to prevent fraud.

Amidst these efforts, Aravali Vihar Police Station received a complaint from a youth alleging that one Junaid Khan had demanded Rs 1 lakh from him in exchange for securing a medical clearance.

The accused had already taken Rs 50,000 in advance, claiming to have strong connections with senior officials. When the youth was declared unfit during the physical test and demanded his money back, Junaid refused.

Acting swiftly on the complaint, a special team under the supervision of Circle Officer North City, Angad Sharma, launched an investigation.

After a detailed probe, both suspects — Junaid Khan (25), son of Dalkhan Meo, resident of Alawada, Ramgarh PS, Alwar district, and Sunil Kumar (46), son of Jagdish, resident of Pai, Jurhera PS, Deeg district, currently living in Hodal, Palwal district, Haryana — were arrested.

During interrogation, Junaid revealed that he runs an academy and PG facility in Alwar. Along with Sunil Kumar and their associates, Vishnu Fauji and Ratiram Bainsala, they lured aspiring candidates by posing as army personnel or claiming to have influential contacts.

They collected hefty amounts from unsuspecting youth by promising to ensure their selection. SP Chaudhary said further revelations are expected during the ongoing investigation, which may unravel the full extent of the gang's network.

He also issued a strong warning to candidates not to fall prey to such fraudulent shortcuts and to rely solely on official recruitment procedures.

The successful operation was carried out by a joint team including Station Officer Rameshwar Lal, Sub-Inspector Bhagwan Singh, Constables Hawa Singh and Prithviraj.

From Circle Officer North City’s team, Sub-Inspector Rohit (Kotwali PS), ASI Kamas Khan, Head Constable Jan Mohammad, and Constable Narendra Kumar also played key roles.

The support of Military Intelligence and CID (Special Branch), District Alwar, was instrumental in this action, said officials.

--IANS

arc/dan