One more held in HP HP constable recruitment test, 19 arrested till now

One more person was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly impersonating as a candidate in the Himachal Pradesh constables recruitment examination, said a police spokesperson.

With the latest arrest, the number of persons nabbed for writing examination posing as candidates has risen to 19, he added.

The test was conducted on Sunday but the state government cancelled it after the arrest of six persons writing the exam in place of real candidates.

Over 39,000 candidates had appeared for the examination for the posts of hundreds of constables in all 12 districts of the state. A new date would be announced soon, the spokesperson said.

The latest arrested accused was identified as Sandeep, a resident of Gharan village in Kangra's Fatehpur tehsil, the police spokesperson said.

Eighteen accused were arrested earlier, with thirteen of them caught on Sunday and Monday. Three of them are from Himachal Pradesh, seven from Haryana, two from Uttar Pradesh and one from Rajasthan.

Five persons, including four impersonators, were arrested subsequently on Sunday, when one other accused Balwinder alias Sonu Jaryal too was nabbed.

Six youths of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were caught on Sunday itself at Parol in Kangra district, the official said, adding they were writing the examination in place of candidates.

All the arrested accused have been remanded in police custody till August 16 for their custodial interrogation to unravel the entire gamut of the conspiracy, the spokesperson said.

Interrogation of all the arrested 19 accused is on, he said, adding startling revelations are expected.

More raids are being conducted at various possible hideouts of the other suspects, he added.

A special investigation team (SIT) headed by Palampur Sub-Divisional Police Officer Amit Sharma is probing the entire matter. A case was registered under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Bhawarna police station in Kangra district in this regard.