Representative image of fraud.
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Kota: A 31-year-old man, desperate for a government job, played a patient game of forgery and deception over multiple years to beat the age bar on the state's recruitment exam for constables.
He forged his birth certificate and Aadhaar card, re-appeared the 10th board in 2021, waited two years and cleared the 12th class boards, cleared the Rajasthan Constable Recruitment Exam-2023 and passed through all but one round of the selection process.
In the last round of document verification and health examination being held on on Tuesday, Hansraj Singh, 31, and trying to pass off as 22, was caught and his elaborate ploy came apart.
Singh, a resident of Neem Ka Thana district, was arrested and booked for allegedly cheating and forgery under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Baran Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Chaudhary said on Wednesday.
The SP said during interrogation, Singh allegedly confessed to reducing his age by nine years in his documents to be able to take the test.
Using the forged papers, he allegedly passed the 10th and 12th boards in 2021 and 2023, respectively, the officer said. Candidates between 18-24 can appear for the state's recruitment exam for constables and there is a five-year relaxation for OBCs.
Born on November 25, 1993, Hansraj Singh allegedly forged a certificate dated November 25, 2002, the SP said, adding that Baran Police had received a tip-off from Special Operations Group, Jaipur about Singh.
The SOG is also probing cases of recruitment scam due to paper leaks in the state.
A search of Singh's clothing and bag revealed copies of both his original documents and the new forged documents, SP Chaudhary said.
It also contained a Delhi Police recruitment application form, an Ordnance Factory recruitment exam form, a 10th class mark sheet from 2009 -- all showing his actual birth date, he said.
The SP said others involved in forging his documents are a matter of investigation. They are also checking if he has recently appeared in any other exams with fake documents, he said.