The CBI has started investigation into the appointment of 13 people as Lower Division Clerks in the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO) using ‘Munna Bhai’ style tactics where impersonators allegedly appeared for them in online and skill tests for induction, officials said Friday.
The CBI has registered an FIR against all 13 individuals appointed as Lower Division Clerks (LDC) in 2014, now posted as Social Security Assistants at different offices, who allegedly got selected using proxies to appear for themselves in the selection tests, they said.
The term ‘Munna Bhai’ became synonymous with the use of proxy candidates after the Sanjay Dutt starrer Munna Bhai MBBS showed the protagonist making it to a medical college with the help of an imposter who wrote the entrance examination for him.
In 2014, CMPFO had issued an advertisement for recruitment of LDCs for which the aspirants had to appear for an online written examination to be conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), they said.
On the basis of merit, shortlisted candidates had to take an online skill (typing) test to be conducted by EdCIL (India) Limited, Noida, in the presence of CMPFO officials, they said.
The scam surfaced when EdCIL told CMPFO that 10 candidates could not prove their identities and later on seven accepted that they were not the real candidates while three insisted that they were genuine and were allowed to appear for the test with the consent of CMPFO officials, they said.
“Officials of EdClL (India) Limited cautioned CMPFO for taking care for verifying the documents/credentials of the candidates in all respect before their final selection/appointment to the post,” the complaint from vigilance which is now part of the CBI probe said.
Alerted by EdCIL, the Vigilance Department proceeded with an in-house probe asking for thumb impressions of all the candidates who were selected and appointed in the process, they said.
These fingerprints were sent to the Central Finger Print Bureau (CFPB)/ National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Kolkata, for verification to be matched with the samples on the admit cards of the candidates when they had appeared for their tests, they said.
In its report, CFPB said the finger prints of 13 candidates were a mismatch.
“It is thus clear that unknown persons have dishonestly and fraudulently appeared in Online Written Examination Skill Test as a proxy candidate for above named persons and aforesaid candidates got selected for the post of LDCs in CMPFO, depriving deserving candidates and thereby cheated the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation, Dhanbad,” the complaint said.
It recommended that an FIR be registered and a detailed inquiry be carried out into the case of the candidates selected at CMPFO by way of forgery and impersonation.