NEW DELHI: The CBI has taken over investigation in ITBP recruitment scam in which 24 unsuccessful candidates from across the country were conned with fake appointment letters to join the force, officials said.
These candidates had appeared in the examination for the post of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) constables in 2014-15 and 2016 but could not clear the selection process, they said.
However, they reached the force's offices with fake recruitment letters to join duties, leaving ITBP officials surprised.
The candidates were from across the country carrying "recruitment letter" in spite of being unsuccessful in their tests, they said.
The ITBP officials spotted a mobile number on their letters with instructions to make contact on it, they said.
The candidates were also asked to deposit some money as "training charges" in bank accounts prior to joining their duties, they said.
Some of these candidates were lured by the letter and scrupulously deposited the money in those accounts, they said.
It was clear that the candidates from Assam, Punjab, Andaman, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh were issued fake recruitment letters even as genuine candidates were cleared after the due process and recruitment process was completed already, they said.
The agency has registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, they said.