Khurda: Three people, including two serving naval officials, have been arrested in Odisha for allegedly extorting money from candidates, promising them help during recruitment of Agniveers at INS Chilka.
The accused have been identified as Satyam Chahar (23), working at INS Kesari (Andaman and Nicobar), Vinay Kumar Ray (38), posted at INS Chilika (Odisha), and a Uttar Pradesh resident Bhoosan (25), who was sacked by the Navy. The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint lodged by lieutenant commander and INS Chilka’s training correspondence officer Adwitiya Singh on April 19 at Balugaon police station.
The INS Chilka, in a press statement, said that suspicious activity, indicating a possible monetary demand from a candidate, was detected during the Agniveer recruitment process. A candidate had alerted th
e authorities about the scam after he was assured of help in increasing his written exam score in a WhatsApp group, offering “favour and assistance” for selection as Agniveers in the armed forces.
“Acting promptly, the Navy surveillance team identified a potential suspect and shared the intelligence with Odisha police authorities of Balugaon police station. Based on this input, the police successfully apprehended the accused. The Indian Navy is extending full cooperation to the police in the ongoing investigation,” it added.
The subsequent questioning of INS Chilka staff member Ray led police to the other two suspects.
Earlier speaking to the media, Khurda SP Sagarika Nath said that the accused persons extorted money ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh from Agniveer aspirants, who appeared in the examination held between April 7 and April 19, by promising them assistance in police verification, physical examination, and securing a job.
The accused reportedly threatened to nullify appointments of those who declined to pay.
Police have also seized several transaction proofs and bank documents. “Twelve bank accounts linked to the fraudulent activities have been frozen. We have intelligence inputs about involvement of two more individuals in the racket. Further investigation is underway,” she added.
Another police officer said that the Navy has been requested to check documents of all selected candidates to identify any forgery.