Haryana natives engage proxies to write govt job test in Kovai, four arrested

The examinations were held at the campuses of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Central Academy for State Forest Service and the Government College of Technology.

Image used for illustrative purposes only.

COIMBATORE: Coimbatore City police arrested four Haryana natives who engaged proxies to write the qualifying exam for the post of multi-tasking staff in the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) in Coimbatore. The incident came to light during certificate verification on Monday. 

The Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding is a forestry research institute situated in Coimbatore and it conducted written exams for the posts of multi-tasking staff on February 4, for technical assistant on February 12 and for the posting of lower division clerk on February 5. 

The examinations were held at the campuses of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Central Academy for State Forest Service and the Government College of Technology. Out of 600 applicants, 289 appeared for the multi-tasking staff exam. For the first time, IFGTB videographed the examination and recorded the identities of the candidates. 

A month later,  the institute short-listed 50 candidates based on marks and called them for certificate verification. The process was held on Monday at the IFGTB campus on Mettupalayam road. During the process, the staff verified the identities of applicants with the video footage recorded during the exam and detected the malpractice.  

According to police, the candidates  - R Amit Kumar (30), R Amit (23) and M Amit Kumar (26),  all hailing from Saina in Mahendragarh, and R Suleman (25) from Badala Bhiwani in Haryana - had approached a tout Praveenkumar who arranged proxies. Police are inquiring how much did the four pay to the tout and the proxies.

Based on a complaint from C Kunhikannan, director at IFGTB Coimbatore, Saibaba Colony police on Monday booked the four persons under sections 419, 420, 468 and 471 of IPC.  The City police have formed a special team to arrest Praveen  Kumar and the proxies. City police commissioner V Balakrishnan said an investigation is underway to find out if he indulged in similar fraud in any other exam in Tamil Nadu.