Police Constable Recruitment Scam-2023: Over 2000 New Recruits Fail To Take Joining

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): More than 2,000 aspirants among the 7,411 selected candidates in the Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2023 are yet to give their joining, even three months after the declaration of results in March.

These candidates had cleared a recruitment process-including the written exam and the physical test, - in which nearly 10 lakh aspirants had applied. However, despite making it to the selection list, a large number have not joined at their respective district headquarters.

According to officials, 32 FIRs have been registered in 10 districts so far against candidates and impersonators in connection with a recruitment scam. The missing candidates have come under the scanner, with suspicion that many might have used unfair means like manipulating Aadhaar credentials to clear the exam.

Once the background verification, especially of Aadhaar history, began, it is believed that some of these candidates backed off, fearing exposure, said sources.

For the 7,411 constable posts, including 7,090 for ‘general duty’ and 321 for technical roles, a total of 9.97 lakh candidates had applied. Of them, more than 6.52 lakh appeared for the exam. Usually, five candidates are called for the physical test for every post, but in this exam, seven candidates were called per post, offering a better opportunity to clear the test.

A total of 58,700 candidates appeared for the physical test. After keeping aside 13% of posts for OBC candidates, 6,420 posts were to be filled. However, around 2,000 selected aspirants have not turned up to join.

Interestingly, several reminders have been sent to the aspirants to report to their respective district headquarters, but there has been no response. Neither are they responding, nor have they approached the police to express unwillingness to join the force, said officials.

Aadhaar centre staff under lens

As the fraud in the police recruitment involved digital tampering, the cyber police have launched an investigation into the role of Aadhaar centre employees and middlemen. More names are likely to emerge as the probe progresses.

 ADG (Selection and Recruitment), Sonali Mishra said, "Over 4,500 of the 6,420 shortlisted candidates have already joined. Before joining, we ensured verification of their character certificates and Aadhaar credentials. We are still hopeful the rest will join soon".