Fraudulent Recruitment Cases Emerge in Jorhat, Assam
New Recruitment Fraud Cases Identified
File image of Office of the District Commissioner, Jorhat (Photo: AT)
Jorhat, Aug 14: Authorities in Jorhat district, Assam, have uncovered new instances of suspected recruitment fraud involving counterfeit Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs). Eleven individuals from outside the state have been identified for allegedly using these forged documents to obtain jobs.
According to Pankaj Bora, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Jorhat, a review of recruitment records from 2022 to 2026 revealed that these individuals had submitted fake PRCs or domicile certificates during their job applications.
Bora stated that these individuals falsely claimed to be residents of Jorhat or Assam to meet the domicile requirements for recruitment.
"They are not from Assam and have used fraudulent certificates to present themselves as local residents, successfully securing positions," Bora claimed.
The identified individuals include Arjun Sinwar, Netra Pal, Satish Chandra, Narendra Kumar, Hargobind Singh, and Danbir Singh, who were associated with the BSF; Arun Meena with the ITBP; and others linked to the CISF and CRPF.
This fraudulent activity was revealed when recruiting agencies requested verification of the certificates submitted by candidates.
"Upon receiving verification requests, we discovered that the certificate numbers provided by applicants matched entirely different documents, not domicile certificates. Some also submitted forged caste certificates," Bora explained.
The district administration has sent copies of the FIR and verification results to the relevant recruiting agencies and battalions for further action.
While Bora refrained from speculating about the involvement of government officials, he expressed confidence that personnel from the Deputy Commissioner's office were not implicated, as PRCs undergo online verification.
However, he raised concerns that the counterfeit certificates might have been generated or modified using artificial intelligence tools.
Bora noted that this issue is not limited to Jorhat, having encountered similar cases in Sonitpur, where appropriate measures were taken. He believes such frauds likely exist in other districts of Assam as well.
These recent cases share similarities with a fake certificate scandal uncovered in June, where six non-Assamese individuals were found to have used forged documents for recruitment in central forces.
"The documents are nearly identical to those from the previous case. We filed an FIR against six individuals in June after verification requests from agencies like CISF, CRPF, and BSF revealed the use of fake documents," Bora stated.
The latest findings have raised alarms about a potential organized racket that may be robbing local unemployed youth of job opportunities meant for genuine residents of Assam.
This development follows a similar incident in Jorhat less than two months ago, where six outsiders were caught using forged PRCs and fake official seals to apply for positions in central armed forces.
In that instance, the fraud was also discovered during the document verification process initiated by recruitment agencies, leading to an FIR and a broader investigation into the forgery network.
Authorities have indicated that the examination of recruitment-related certificates is ongoing, and more fraudulent cases may emerge as the verification process continues.