Army recruitment scam in UP claims five lives

Organised corruption in army recruitment led to the death of at least five people in firing at a mob of candidates that turned violent in Chandauli, near Varanasi, on Sunday.

A middleman, who allegedly brokered ‘deals’ with several candidates on behalf of army officers, has been arrested. State police and the army are blaming each other. While the army says it did not open fire, the state government has said the local administration was not informed about the recruitment exercise.

Sources said UP Police were probing links of the Chandauli incident with the scam unearthed in Ajmer, where six army men, including three majors, have been arrested for brokering recruitments at a camp in Jodhpur.

According to reports reaching here, over 10,000 candidates had gathered for a physical fitness test organised by the Gurkha Regiment at the Government Polytechnic College ground on Sunday morning. It is alleged that some regiment officers favoured chosen candidates who were asked to run only two laps while the rest were supposed to run four.

Word went around that the recruitment process was a sham and that some candidates had already been handpicked. The crowd soon got restless and started creating a ruckus. As army officers tried to quell the protests, the candidates turned violent and attacked the men in uniform.

Failing to control the mob with caning, the army men resorted to firing. Brigadier SK Thapa said the Army had not opened fire at the candidates. However, he did not blame the district police or administration directly. He pointed out that the camp had started on July 13, implying that there was no way local officials wouldn’t have been aware of it.