Pune: Army recruitment exam cancelled after paper leak, 3 including two ex-army personnel held

The Army has cancelled an examination for pan-India recruitment of general duty personnel after paper was found to have been leaked, officials said on Sunday.

Three persons including two ex-army personnel have been arrested for allegedly running an Army recruitment racket in Pune, police said.

In a joint operation on Sunday, officials of Military Intelligence of Indian Army and Crime branch unit of Pune city police have busted the racket in Pune who allegedly promised to leak question papers of Indian Army relation recruitment.

Three accused including two ex-army personnel namely Ali Akhtar and Mahendra Sonavane were arrested by police in the case. The third accused has been identified as Azad Khan.

According to a complaint received by the police, the accused were about to leak the exam papers of the Indian Army Relation recruitment exam being held in Pune on Sunday.

The police said that the accused had promised recruitment in the Army to those appearing for exams and had asked them to pay Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs for leaked paper.

The Pune Police said that some candidates had already paid Rs 1 lakh as an advance amount and the remaining Rs 1 lakh was supposed to be paid after the recruitment.

According to the Police, the ex-army men were running the recruitment racket while Azad Khan who was working as a civil defence cook at the Bombay Sappers Unit of the Indian army was coordinating with them. A case has been registered against all three accused under relevant sections.

While further investigations are underway, it was decided to cancel the examination to ensure continuous transparency in the recruitment process.

(With agency inputs)