Delhi CBSE racket: Accused was paid ₹12L for impersonation

One of the accused had allegedly appeared as a dummy candidate during the examination on April 20, police said

Police have so far arrested four people in connection with an impersonation racket during the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recruitment examination in a south Delhi school last week, officers said on Saturday.

During the verification process, the biometric device flagged a mismatch between the candidate’s picture and the uploaded biometric data/picture during the process of screening the candidate, police said. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One of the accused had allegedly appeared as a dummy candidate during the examination on April 20, and was paid ₹12 lakh for the impersonation, police said. The accused has also appeared in many such examinations for other candidates in the past, they added.

On Saturday, HT reported the arrest of three people in the case.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan said the accused were identified as Sachin (only first name known), 26, Nitin (only first name known), 28, Baljinder Singh, 27, and Shyam Sunder, 29 — all residents of Haryana.

Nitin was supposed to appear for the April 20 examination, but Sachin was sent on his behalf. The exam was held for the posts of superintendent and junior assistant across the country. The alleged racket came to light during the candidate screening process.

“During the verification process, the biometric device flagged a mismatch between the candidate’s picture and the uploaded biometric data/picture during the process of screening the candidate...”,the complainant — a teacher of the school where the examination was held — told police.

Two officials from the company managing the biometrics then informed the centre in-charge, who called the police. Sachin was arrested from the school the same day and Nitin, who was in the vicinity, was also nabbed. During interrogation, Sachin confessed to impersonating candidates in various examinations.

Police said Sachin, a resident of Madina, is a graduate and has a similar case registered against him in Rajasthan. Nitin is a Jhajjar resident, holds a BTech degree and is looking for a government job.

During interrogation, the two disclosed the involvement of their associates in the conspiracy, which led to the arrests of Sunder and Singh from Greater Kailash on Thursday. Both Singh and Sunder are graduates and currently serving in the municipal department in Haryana’s Tohana. The two met in 2019 and together started the racket of impersonating candidates in various examinations for money.

“Singh met Sachin in 2024 and involved him in the dealing with candidates for solving the exams. He is essentially the middleman,” an officer, part of the investigation, said. Both Singh and Sunder struck a deal with Nitin for ₹15 lakh, out of which ₹12 lakh were paid to Sachin to appear on Nitin’s behalf. The remaining ₹3 lakh were distributed among Singh and Sunder, the DCP said.

“Singh revealed that another individual, Sachin Dangi, a resident of village Madina in Rohtak, had appeared in the same examination on his behalf at a school in Mayur Vihar,” Chauhan said.

Investigation is underway and police are trying to nab Dangi and others involved in the racket.