Gujarat man sent to 8-day remand for enrolling into PSI academy with forged docs

Mayur Tadvi was arrested on March 1 and an FIR was lodged at the Dabhoda police station in Gandhinagar

A court in Gandhinagar has sent Mayur Tadvi, accused of submitting forged documents including fitness certificates and appointment letter to enrol as a trainee police sub-inspector at the Karai Police Academy in Gandhinagar, to eight days’ remand.

For representative purposes only. (AFP File Photo)

The police had sought a 14-day remand, and the accused will be produced before the court again at 10 am on March 10, a police official said.

Tadvi was arrested on March 1 and an FIR was lodged at the Dabhoda police station in Gandhinagar where he was booked under sections 465 (punishment for forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code, among other charges.

A total of 582 trainees were selected through a series of tests by the Police Recruitment Board (PRB), but Tadvi’s name was not on the list of those candidates. A “secret investigation” was held under the vigilance of the higher authorities in the academy and Tadvi was kept under watch, according to the FIR filed on the basis of complaint by inspector MN Rana of the academy.

In 2022, 1,382 candidates were recruited through the PRB. In the last week of February, when the police department was preparing the salary slips of the 582 PSIs for the month, they found that the list of selected candidates did not include Tadvi who had enrolled as a trainee.

“Senior officers of the police training academy were informed about it and an inquiry was initiated against Tadvi,” according to a statement issued by the academy.

It further stated that Tadvi had allegedly procured the appointment letter issued by the DGP office on January 9 from his friend Mehul Rathwa. The letter was addressed to one Vishal Rathwa, whose name Tadvi had allegedly replaced with his own.

“Tadvi’s hostel barrack was checked and a black bag was found in which he had printouts of a failed physical test and appointment letters of the selected candidates from the DIG (Vadodara range) office dated 9 January 2023. Further investigation of his background, social media and contact history revealed that he had got the list of candidates appointed from his acquaintance Mehul Rathwa,” according to the complaint.

Two days before his arrest, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Gujarat leader Yuvrajsinh Jadeja held a press conference in Ahmedabad and alleged that one candidate presently undergoing training at the Karai police training centre in Gandhinagar had not appeared in any examination and his name was not there in the form, physical test results or final results.

Alleging corruption in the recruitment exam, Jadeja said the candidate’s name was not even mentioned in the allotment letter procured from Vadodara as he was from the same district.

“However, he is under PSI training and has even received a salary for a month,” Jadeja said, alleging that there were at least 10 others like Tadvi who forged documents and were enrolled into the academy.

On Wednesday, 19 Congress and AAP MLAs were suspended from the state assembly after they protested in the House demanding an immediate discussion on the matter.