As many as 110 candidates have been found to have submitted fake nativity certificates for participating in the ongoing army recruitment rally here.
The recruitment drive meant for candidates from certain taluks in seven districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is being held in District Sports Complex here from August 19 and it will last till the end of this month.
Based on online applications submitted by candidates they were allotted certain dates for participating in the rally and they were asked to bring with them the nativity, community and education certificates.
Everyday about 2,000 to 2,500 candidates participate in the rally. Verification of nativity and community certificates are spot verified with the help of revenue officials from the respective districts. Since the copy of every certificate provided through online service under e-District programme is saved in the server, the revenue officials could check if the certificates are true or fake.
So far, 110 certificates were found to be fake. Apart from disqualifying the candidates, recruiting officers have informed the police.
Arrived clueless
Among the 110 candidates, 41 of them had cleared the physical tests and had come for the medical test on Wednesday without having any knowledge that officials had uncovered the fake certificate racket.
These candidates were then taken to a wedding hall nearby and interrogated on how they managed to secure the fake certificates and who was behind it. Additional Superintendent of Police (headquarters) Rangarajan said: “From the interrogation, police were able to get the names of four or five suspects, who had allegedly arranged these certificates. After the questioning, the candidates were allowed to leave”.
Since the recruitment is restricted to certain taluks of the seven districts, those belonging to other taluks in the same district, could have arranged for the fake nativity certificates out of desperation to be recruited, officials said.
