Delhi Police probe larger nexus in teacher exam proxy case

Delhi Police are investigating a larger scam involving a teacher who allegedly used a proxy for a DSSSB exam in 2021. Cheating and forgery charges filed.

NEW DELHI

A senior police officer said that a case under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered on Monday, as the incident allegedly took place in 2021. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Delhi Police said they are probing a larger scam in the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) examination, after the department of education reported that a teacher who taught at one of their schools in outer Delhi’s Sultanpuri for a year and a half allegedly didn’t take the exam and sent a proxy candidate for the test in 2021.

A senior police officer said that a case under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered on Monday, as the incident allegedly took place in 2021.

In the FIR, a copy of which was accessed by HT, the principal of a state government school in Sultanpuri alleged that a man identified as Sunil Dangi was nominated by the DSSSB for the post of assistant teacher primary and subsequently, posted and joined the school.

The principal said that they were subsequently informed that biometrics and photograph verification were provided by DSSSB between February 22, 2021 and April 6, 2021. The report was eventually examined by the committee, which concluded that the biometrics and the photograph were mismatched and could not be verified. The committee recommended that a FIR be registered against Dangi.

According to the FIR, a request letter was sent to Sultanpuri police station’s in-charge in August 2022. An officer aware of the matter said that it was being examined why an FIR was not registered then. The officer said that Dangi taught in the school for a period of one-and-a-half years in 2022 and 2023, before he was terminated from his services.

The principal of the school lodged a formal complaint again and a case was registered on Monday. “Investigation has been taken up on charges of cheating and forgery. A notice has been issued to the office concerned to share details of the employment of the accused and DSSSB exam records for further probe,” the officer said.

The officer said that they suspect a bigger scam at play and once Dangi is brought in for questioning after evidence is gathered against him, investigators may be able to bust the nexus. “The investigation may lead to a nexus in which proxy candidates are sent for such exams in lieu of money. The investigation is at an initial stage,” the officer said.