Mumbai: CBI has invoked stringent charges of forgery of valuable security and provisions of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act in its probe into an alleged impersonation racket involving 135 candidates selected through Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) recruitment examinations. The forgery charge attracts a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
It is alleged that at least 180 such aspirants cleared and are employed in various banks. Sections 3, 4 and 5 are offences of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act that are related to prohibition of unfair means, disruption and criminal conspiracy. When invoked with the penal provisions, Section 10 prescribes imprisonment of up to five years and a Rs 10 lakh fine for individual offenders, while Section 11 is related to organised crime syndicates with a harsher maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of at least Rs 1 crore.
A special court on Friday took on record CBI’s intimation to invoke additional penal provisions.
Field verification of the biometrics of suspected impersonators during the investigation revealed that accused Rajeev Ranjan , Vishwa Bhaskar, Abhishek Kumar alias Roshan and Manish Kumar had allegedly appeared in place of the actual candidates at different stages of the recruitment process, according to CBI. CBI told the court that the impersonators had allegedly signed and provided sample handwriting on admit cards in the names of the original candidates in the presence of the invigilators.
“Having considered the submissions and the record, it appears that based upon the facts revealed during the course of investigation, the provisions as aforementioned are invoked…,” the judge said. The agency also examined invigilators Sagar Gupta and Sakshi Chhipa, who were posted at examination centres in Lucknow and Ajmer, Rajasthan, respectively.