CBI begins Ordnance Factory exam fraud probe

The CBI FIR registered on Tuesday cited Rubesh Sibu Dey of Nagpur, Maharashtra, and Bharath Singh of Kanpur Nagar in Uttar Pradesh as suspects in the case on charges that they had made somebody else to write examination on their behalf. The investigating agency has registered case against them under various sections of the IPC for impersonation, cheating, forgery and abetment. 

The case that was registered by the Tiruchy city police in 2016 was transferred to CBI following an order by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in February. Aryasakthi, an assistant work manager in Tiruchy Ordnance Factory, had lodged the initial complaint.

The written test for durwan (office assistant) was conducted on December 20, 2015, at Jamal Mohamed College in Tiruchy, while the physical fitness test was conducted on the next day. Based on the test, 16 people had joined duty at the factory. 

Following the incidents of impersonation in the recruitment of some Central government organisations, the ordnance factory management decided to verify fingerprints taken during examination with that of the recruits. 

When checked, fingerprints taken during the examination did not match with that of the suspects who had joined duty in April 2016. As per departmental rules, they were placed under suspension and a complaint was lodged against them. 

It may be recalled that the CBI had initiated a probe in November into suspected impersonation during a recruitment examination conducted for lower division clerks at the ordnance factory in May 2016, after four selected candidates’ fingerprints did not match with the prints taken during the examination. The FIR cites four candidates, Delhi-based ACE consultants and Chennai-based Savat Infosol along with unknown public servants as the suspects.