Jaipur, February 17 In a nationwide crackdown on a network of individuals posing as candidates in a scheme linked to alleged irregularities in a 2022 teacher recruitment examination in the state, the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested five suspected individuals on Tuesday, each receiving a reward of Rs 10,000, officials said.
The arrests were made during simultaneous raids at six locations across Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kolkata, Jaipur, Kota, and Jalore, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) Senior Teacher (Secondary Education) Second Grade Competitive Examination-2022.
Additional Director General of Police, SOG, Vishal Bansal said that complaints had been received that certain candidates had fraudulently passed the examination by sending proxy candidates on their behalf and secured appointments as senior teachers.
Following a preliminary inquiry, the case was registered, and a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted to investigate the matter.
The ADG said that three MBBS students and two government school teachers were arrested for allegedly appearing in the examination in place of original candidates in exchange for amounts ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Another MBBS student from Kolkata has been detained for questioning.
Officials said that identifying proxy candidates solely based on photographs posed a major challenge. A special software tool was developed to match candidates' images with the state's one-time registration database, enabling investigators to confirm identities through technical analysis.
With this latest action, a total of 26 accused – including 12 original candidates, nine proxy candidates, and five intermediaries – have been arrested so far in the case, the SOG said.
Further investigation is underway to identify the remaining accused and verify the educational qualifications and current postings of those arrested, officials added.
