INSIDE THE FRAUD FACT

CHEATING NETWORKS HIJACK RAJASTHAN'S RECRUITMENT SYSTEM, ERODING TRUST AND CRUSHING THE HOPES OF GENUINE ASPIRANTS

- By ROHIT PARIHAR

For countless young aspirants, a government job is the ultimate prize-a ticket to stability, respect and a secure future. But in Rajasthan, that dream has curdled into a marketplace of deceit. Leaked papers, Bluetooth-aided cheating, dummy candidates, forged certificates and quota scams have riddled the very recruitment process. Desperation has bred collusion, where aspirants, middlemen and insiders come together to con the system. The cost has been high-for honest aspirants and for the credibility of public service itself.

In August, the Rajasthan High Court scrapped the 2021 police sub-inspector (SI) recruitment after widespread evidence of paper leaks and proxy candidates. Nearly 797,000 aspirants had competed for just 859 posts, making it one of the state's most emblematic scandals. "There are thousands of cases where candidates have used fraudulent means," an investigating officer of the Special Operations Group (SOG) tells INDIA TODAY. "If there's any department not under the scanner, it's only because its cases haven't come to light yet. Kuen mein bhang hai (everyone's intoxicated)."

THE PAPER LEAK ECONOMY

Rajasthan's biggest recruitment seams often begin long before Question papers for teacher, constable and Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) examinations are leaked hours or even days ahead-often by insiders at printing presses or corrupt officials. Copies sell for lakhs, and candidates who buy them are coached in hotel rooms or even on buses en route to exam centres.