CBI books 40 in candidate recruitment scandal in Army

The CBI has registered a case against 40 persons alleging irregularities in the appointment of 34 ineligible candidates in the Indian Army during a recruitment drive by its Headquarter Recruitment Office here in Uttar Pradesh in 2016-17.

In a FIR registered on Tuesday, the central agency named 40 persons, including candidates and unidentified middlemen, accusing them of using forged documents during the selection process.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the 34 candidates got selected and even joined training in the Army but it was later found that they were ineligible.

The candidates in connivance with the touts, middlemen and unidentified official of Headquarter Recruiting office in Lucknow got selected for the posts of soldiers for technical, general, sentry, clerical and medical duty, the FIR said.

"The 34 candidates participated in the recruitment drive carried out by the Headquarter Recruitment Office, Indian Army, Lucknow, during 2016-17. The candidate are accused of submitting fake domicile certificates purported to have been issued from the sub-divisional magistrate, Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, whereas all of them are resident of western districts of the state."

The CBI filed the FIR following an April 19 complaint of its own Inspector Pradeep Kumar Singh who was part of the investigation of the case since December 12 last year when a preliminary enquiry was lodged.

All the accused have been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, criminal misconduct and hacking with computer system.

--IANS

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