ARMY RECRUITMENT OFFICE LUDHIANA CATCHES 42 CANDIDATES ENROLLED USING FRAUDULENT METHODS

Ludhiana, February 17, 2019: The Army Recruitment Office (ARO) Ludhiana has caught 42 recruits, who got enrolled in the Indian Army in the month of September last year by using fraudulent methods. Recently, a gang of touts was arrested in Rupnagar on January 19 which was in illegal possession of fake stamps and seals of Tehsildar’s/Sub Tehsildar’s of Ludhiana and Rupnagar districts. These touts were verifying the residence certificate of the candidates by using these fake stamps and seals.

While confirming this development, Col Vishal Dubey, Director (Recruiting), Army Recruitment Office, Ludhiana, informed that during the detailed scrutiny of fake residence certificates of the fraudulent candidates, it was observed that these certificates were found to be correct during online verification. To verify the same, the ARO Ludhiana carried out the verification of the suspected candidates by sending a team of ARO staff at the addresses provided in the residence certificates.

Col Dubey informed that none of the addresses were found correct in respect of the fraudulent candidates. He informed that the system of verification of residence by ARO is through manual and online means. He said that some of the candidates have managed to produce fake residence certificates from Tehsildar office by producing fake supporting documents hence their residence certificates are being verified online inspite of being fraudulent candidates.

He said that on the scrutiny of the office procedures, it was observed that the manual verification process had been penetrated by the touts through the ARO Ludhiana, messenger Surinder Pal (Civil Defence Employee) who was apprehended and handed over to the police vide FIR number 29 dated February 1, 2019.

He informed that the second stage of verification post despatch of the candidates to respective training centres is carried out by the concerned police station as per the policy in vogue. He said that when the scrutiny of the addresses was carried out by the ARO, the addresses of 42 candidates were found fake. He said that in some cases, multiple enrolments had taken place using the same address and in one particular case, two candidates had used the address of the tout kingpin Ex Havaldar Mohinder Singh against whom an arrest warrant has been issued on February 11.

He said that to rule out the possibility of any undesirable elements been recruited in the Indian Army and also to rule out any further hand of an insider, a joint exercise was carried out with the support of Deputy Commissioner Ludhiana Mr Pradeep Kumar Agrawal, wherein a number of fake residence certificates were established. During which it came to the fore that a total of 42 candidates of other states had got enrolled in the Indian Army in the year 2018. He informed that verification of such address of last five years is also in progress to expose the roots of this touting business in Ludhiana and neighbouring districts.

Col Vishal Dubey has written a letter to the Deputy Commissioners of Ludhiana, Moga, Mohali and Rupnagar and to the Police Commissioner of Ludhiana and DIG’s for proper action. “The matter is most serious as, firstly, such loopholes can be exploited by persons across the borders (Punjab being a border state) to get enrolled in the Indian Army and secondly, the employment prospects of the youth of Punjab state is being illegally utilised by the candidates from other states,” read a portion of the letter.

He further stated that strict action would be taken against the recruits who got themselves enrolled in the Indian army by using fraudulent methods.