Over 1,500 Fake Kurash Certificates Under Scanner, 2 Held In Pune: All You Need To Know About The Case
Pune: The racket involving the issuance of fake sports proficiency certificates allegedly used by candidates to secure government employment under the 5% sports quota has come under the scanner of Pune Police, with investigators suspecting that more than 1,500 Kurash certificates may have been issued over the past decade. Police have so far identified around 60 candidates who allegedly approached…
Pune Police have launched an investigation into the issuance of over 1,500 fraudulent sports proficiency certificates, specifically Kurash certificates, used by individuals to secure government employment under the 5% sports quota. The ruse allegedly involved around 60 candidates, including approximately 19 suspected police officers, who used the forged documents to gain employment. The police are currently probing whether similar certificates were issued in other sports, such as Dragon Boat, Wushu, and other disciplines.
The case came to light when a Kurash aspirant noticed a friend, who had never participated in Kurash, securing a government job through the sports quota. This discrepancy prompted a complaint and subsequent police inquiry. During the investigation, police found certificates claiming participants had attended state-level Kurash competitions that never took place, particularly between 2016 and 2019.
Moreover, discrepancies in the certificates were discovered, such as incorrect district names and missing serial numbers, raising doubts about their authenticity.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Gauhar Hasan stated that the investigation obtained documents under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which revealed several discrepancies in the certificates. These discrepancies included the use of obsolete district names and non-matching gender categories with candidates' names. The investigation also revealed that office-bearers of the Kurash Association of Maharashtra allegedly collected old participation letters from district-level organizations, which were then used to fabricate records and submit them to the sports department, demonstrating that competitions had taken place and that the candidates had participated in them.
The investigation is also examining the involvement of government officials in the scheme, with a senior police official asserting that the involvement of someone within the sports department was crucial for the certificates to bypass the system. It is possible that more arrests will be made as the probe expands beyond Kurash certificates to include allegations of fraudulent certificates in other sports, such as Dragon Boat, Wushu, and other disciplines.
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