The accused allegedly abetted illegal appointments into the CAPF based on fake or unauthenticated documents falsely certifying that ineligible aspirants were residents or domiciles of West Bengal.
The CBI on Friday claimed it had broken its silence into the alleged scam in CAPF recruitment in West Bengal. It has arrested a key accused, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the racket of forging domicile certificates for ineligible aspirants for a large sum.
The authorities identified the arrested person as Mahesh Kumar Choudhary, against whom a case was registered on August 2, 2023, following an order by the Calcutta High Court.
He and the other accused allegedly facilitated illegal appointments into the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), based on fake or unauthenticated documents falsely certifying that ineligible aspirants were residents or domiciles of West Bengal. These were specially forged for those from border districts or naxal-militancy-hit areas.
Recruitment in the CAPFs also has some relaxations and quotas for candidates belonging to these areas, which makes it a juicy target for forgery. According to the charge sheet, the accused allegedly misused these provisions to let such candidates into the forces.
The CBI conducted searches at multiple locations in West Bengal. It was subsequently found that Choudhary, who is posted as a sepoy at the Engineering Store Depot (ESD) in Kankinara in North 24 Parganas district, was central to the scam.
