Pune: The army authorities have launched a probe into the possibility of a bigger racket of fake recruitments following the arrest of a serving army clerk at the Army Recruiting Office (ARO) in Colaba, Mumbai, on Wednesday in an alleged bribery case. The arrest was made by the military intelligence unit of the Southern Command, operating in Mumbai.
The clerk is accused of accepting Rs 30,000 bribe from a recruitment candidate for clearing the latter’s final documents before he could process to one of the regiment centres for military training.
A senior army officer told TOI on Friday, “The clerk was under surveillance by the intelligence agencies for the last few months. We had specific information that he took money from a recruitment candidate. We have recovered the cash from his possession.”
He said the case is now being investigated further to ascertain if the clerk was involved in any such activities in liaison with touts and agents. “There is a possibility of a bigger racket involved. The clerk is now in custody of the Military Police in Colaba Military Station, Mumbai, for further disciplinary action as per army procedures,” the officer added.
According to army sources, the clerk was posted with the ARO Mumbai for the last two years and was on his way out in a week on completion of his tenure there. “Last week, he came in contact with the candidate after checking and knowing of some rectifications required in the candidate’s documents before finalization of the same and further dispatch to the concerned regimental training centre,” an army officer said.
He said, “The clerk called the candidate on the pretext of clearing his documents and demanded Rs 30,000. The candidate arranged the amount within two days and delivered it to the clerk on the day of final documentation at the ARO Mumbai on Wednesday, a few hours before proceeding to the regimental centre for his further training.”
The officer said, “The local military authority (Colaba military station) will conduct a court of inquiry and investigate the matter.”
