Chandigarh: The two individuals apprehended are Deepak, aged 32, stationed at the fire station in Sector 32, and Bijender, aged 25, stationed at the fire station in Sector 17, Chandigarh. They were taken into custody from their respective posts on Wednesday. According to a senior police official familiar with the investigation, both confessed to paying Rs.10 lakh each to impersonators who took the recruitment exam on their behalf in 2021. Charges under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code have been filed against them. The revelation of their impersonation emerged during the inquiry into the ASI recruitment scam that began in August 2023. Records pertaining to the written examination for firefighter recruitment, conducted on October 27, 2021, were scrutinized, revealing discrepancies in the identities of three candidates – Naveen, Deepak, and Bijender – all from Sonepat, Haryana. It was confirmed that impersonators had taken the exam on their behalf. Satish Kumar, one of the impersonators involved in the ASI recruitment scam, was identified as having also provided fake candidates for the firefighter recruitment exam. Satish Kumar, a 28-year-old from Bajana village, Sonepat, who holds an MSc in mathematics, was identified as the ringleader of the recruitment scam. During interrogation, Satish disclosed his involvement along with his associates Sombir, Robin, and others in training fake candidates and appearing in various exams, including the written exam for firefighter recruitment. He also admitted to clearing the HSSC exam for the Haryana Police GD Constable position on behalf of his nephew Jaideep. A letter was sent on November 9, 2023, to the chief controller of exams, Haryana Staff Selection Commission, to obtain records related to the aforementioned examination batch, which is still pending investigation.
