The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested eight individuals for running a railway recruitment scam. On July 22, the agency conducted a raid at the residents of several places like Agra, Lucknow, Chomu (Rajasthan), Sonipat and Delhi. They detained the accused persons reportedly under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. The case was registered on the accusations of railway recruitment by the accused using a fake government job website in the name of the Railway Recruitment Control Board.

The CBI further reported that the eight set out a thorough recruitment procedure similar to the regular one which is followed by authorised government agencies. In this scam, the accused attracted candidates majorly from Rajasthan that has a large number of job hunters in RRB’s Group C and D categories. According to the investigation bureau, the candidates were instructed to fill in the applications and submit the same along with valid academic documents, photographs and identity proofs. The exam results were published on the fake websites which the accused operated. They even collected amount ranging from Rs. 3 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs from each candidate in the name of conveying training at a private coaching institute in Dehradun.

All the eight were produced before a designated CBI court and as of now have been imprisoned to remain in the police custody till July 26. During their investigation, the CBI said that its officials recovered various incriminating documents, phones, bank cards, seals and cash. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways is slated to conduct its first ever computer-based recruitment exams on August 9 for over 26,500 vacancies of assistant loco pilots and technicians.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).