CGST inspector, 3 others held for impersonation in bank exam racket

The arrests were made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) across various states on Thursday. While the CGST inspector was arrested in Kolkata, the other three arrests were made in Delhi and Haryana, CBI officials said

MUMBAI: A Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) inspector and three others have been arrested for impersonating candidates who took public-sector banking recruitment exams in 2020-24. The arrested quartet is part of an inter-state network that specialises in cheating in these competitive exams.

CGST inspector, 3 others held for impersonation in bank exam racket

The arrests were made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) across various states on Thursday. While the CGST inspector was arrested in Kolkata, the other three arrests were made in Delhi and Haryana, CBI officials said.

Operating in several states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Haryana and West Bengal, the accused and their associates had allegedly taken the exams on behalf of various candidates working in various public-sector and regional rural banks across India.

The four accused had allegedly passed through various stages of the selection process, including written examinations and interviews. CBI sources said they are investigating 62 others who similarly impersonated candidates.

The CBI’s Mumbai unit registered a First Information Report ( FIR) in the case on August 20, based on a complaint from the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), Mumbai. IBPS is an autonomous body and a notified Public Examination Authority (PEA), which conducts the Common Recruitment Process (CRP) for all the public-sector banks and regional rural banks across India.

The CBI’s FIR was registered against 135 candidates from several states, unidentified public servants and private persons for alleged irregularities during 2020-2024. They are suspected to have indulged in unfair exam practices including impersonation, and have been charged under the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and the Information Technology Act.

The complaint alleged that when the IBPS undertook data analysis, photo comparison and biometric matching of candidates in CRP examinations held between 2020 and 2024, a total of 257 suspects from among selected candidates were flagged for impersonation.

Of these, 180 candidates are currently working in various public-sector banks and regional rural banks across India. The 135 selected candidates named in the FIR on August 20 are from this list of 180 candidates, according to the IBPS’s complaint.

The IBPS also identified 54 alleged impersonators who stood in for two or more candidates and helped 172 candidates secure bank jobs illegally. Another eight identified impersonators had allegedly appeared for eight candidates and secured jobs for them fraudulently.