MP Forest Guard Recruitment Fraud Suspected – 112 Candidates Under Scrutiny
Bhopal (Saurabh Soni, NaiDunia): The controversy surrounding recruitment exams in Madhya Pradesh refuses to die down. Following ongoing investigations in the Police Constable Recruitment Scam, now the Forest Guard Recruitment Exam 2023 is under suspicion. MP Employees Selection Board (MP ESB) has halted the selection of 112 candidates and initiated a re-verification of their documents.
112 Selections on Hold
Out of 1670 vacancies for Forest Guard posts announced in 2023, 1340 candidates were shortlisted. However, selection for 112 of these posts has been withheld due to doubts regarding the authenticity of candidates' educational documents, application details, answer sheets, and more. A high-level committee is investigating potential malpractice, possibly involving impersonators or forged documents.
Link to Police Constable Recruitment Scam
The pattern seems similar to the 2023 Police Constable exam, which was held for 7411 posts. Out of these, 6423 candidates were selected, but over 33 impersonators were caught who manipulated Aadhaar data and appeared in exams on behalf of others. These impersonators updated photos and biometrics to pass off as the real candidates. The scam spanned across 9 districts. Based on this, the Forest Guard exam is also being scrutinized for similar fraud.
OBC Reservation Dispute
In addition to fraud-related investigations, 218 posts in the Forest Guard recruitment are under court consideration due to the OBC reservation controversy. These have been withheld under the 87:13 ratio formula. According to Saket Malviya, Director of the MP Selection Board, “Wherever there's suspicion, results are withheld. Final selections will be announced after thorough investigation.”
Police Constable Recruitment Status
Of the 1340 selected candidates in the police constable exam, 1173 have joined while 167 are in the final stages of processing.
