A constable with the Border Security Force (BSF), who had been undergoing training at BSF 95 battalion camp in Bhondsi for more than four months, had allegedly got into the service after an impersonator cleared the written and physical tests, the police said on Tuesday.

The constable enrolled with the BSF in April 2017 and had undergone 25 weeks of basic training before the fraud was detected in March 2018, according to the FIR filed at Bhondsi police station.

The constable’s signature and thumb impression were found not matching with the ones in the original documents submitted at the time of the admission, said Umesh Kumar, station house officer of Bhondsi police station. “The accused, Lwith Brahma, hailing from Assam, is on the run,” he said.

The constable has been missing from the training camp since May 10, 2018. According to an inquiry report from the fingerprint division of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Delhi, the constable’s fingerprint and signature, recorded just before he went missing, did not match with the ones in the record.

A BSF official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the fraud was detected during a routine medical examination, in which the constable’s height was found to be less than the height required to join the BSF.

According to the official, the written and physical tests were conducted in Assam by another central armed force, and an impersonator could have given his tests.

On April 17, 2017, Brahma joined the camp in Bhondsi for basic recruit training and the alleged fraud remained undetected until March 2018, when the medical examination was conducted.

“After our doctors found that his height was less (than the requirement), we informed our head office and a medical board of two doctors were formed, who also confirmed that his height was less than required limit,” the official said.

Brahma’s signatures and thumb impressions were taken and sent to the CFSL. On May 10, he allegedly went missing from the camp and an FIR was filed on his disappearance from the camp.

On August 27, the CFSL report confirmed that there was a mismatch.

“Our teams had checked for him at his house in Assam, but he was not found. We suspect that someone else might have written the examination for the accused,” the official said.

An FIR has been registered at Bhondsi police station on Monday under Section 420 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code, based on a complaint by the office of the commandant of the BSF camp.

First Published: Jan 16, 2019 09:35 IST