Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
As a part of sweeping raids across the state, a joint team of Thane and Nagpur Crime Branch swooped at Maurya Sabhagriha in Parvati Nagar under Ajni Police Station area on Sunday early morning and busted a racket involved in leaking of Army Recruitment examination papers. More than 10 accused have been arrested from the hall along with aspiring candidates. The students came to get copy of the papers,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Crime Ranjan Kumar Sharma.
A police officer informed that Thane cops received a tip-off last week about the racket involved in Army Recruitment Board’s paper leak and selling it to aspiring soldiers. Thane cops sent their decoys to racket and collected information about the modus-operandi.
As the Army recruitment board was conducting exam on Sunday, special teams of Thane police arrived in city and also visited Pune and other places. After reaching Nagpur in afternoon hours, the special team lead by Police Inspector Nitin Thakre reported to senior officers of city police. According to sources, top level officers of Thane police urged Nagpur police for help to conduct the raids.
After getting address of Maurya Sabhagriha in Paravati Nagar, Squad No. 4 of Crime Branch was tasked to co-ordinate with Thane police team. Sources also claimed that two officers of Crime Branch surveyed the target -- Maurya Sabhagriha -- and confirmed presence of aspiring Army soldiers.
The aspiring candidates were residents of various districts of Vidarbha including Yeotmal, Akola, Bhandara and from Nagpur. The joint teams reached the Maurya Sabhagriha in four vehicles and busted the racket. According sources, the students were preparing for the examination. “Some were reading the answers and some were discussing the answers in the group when the cops netted them,” informed sources.
Entry of police panicked the students and some of them started crying. The accused person who have sold the papers seemed stunned as they had taken every bit of precaution to run the entire operation in a clandestine way. The accused along with the students were taken to the Crime Branch office in two Police vans.
“The offences has been registered at Thane and the Thane police will investigate the case. There is no need to register separate offences at Nagpur,” said DCP Sharma.
Police Inspectors Dipak Khobragade, Girish Tathod, APIs Nitin Kumbhar, Dhnyaneshwar Bhododkar, Pradip Atulkar, Suryawanshi, PIS Tirpathi and others made the arrest.
Clerk fixed deal in Rs 1.35 crore at Gujarat lodge
According to sources, meeting between Santosh Shinde and one clerk -- Ravindra Kumar -- took place at Gujarat Lodge, Cotton Market, here in city on Thursday and the deal was fixed in Rs 1.35 crore. Shinde then contacted Directors of Captain Subhash Nirmale Career Academy, Tango Charlie Academy, Okre Academy and others informed then about the paper leak. “Shinde was unable to float such huge cash. Hence, he contacted others to book maximum profit,” said a police officer. The academy Directors then met their students and demanded Rs one lakh to four lakh for true copy of the paper. Instead of collecting cash from the student, the Academy directors took custody of their documents and asked them to pay the money only after final selection.
Seven questions were leaked in last recruitment
A senior police officer informed that Shinde and the clerk -- Ravindra Kumar -- came in the contact since last recruitment drive. “The clerk had given seven questions to Shinde and did not asked for the money only to gain his confidence. Now, this confidence help the clerk in bargaining for maximum,” said the officer.
Paper copy first came on WhatsApp
According to source, the clerk had captured image of the paper and sent it on Shinde’s WhatsApp number on Saturday night. After taking print-out of the paper, Shinde orally dictated questions and answers to aspiring candidates at Maurya Sabhagriha.
Luxury buses ferried aspirants
In an attempt to book more profit, Shinde and his accomplices also arranged transportation of the aspiring candidates. One bus and two jeeps were parked near Railway Station. Some representatives of the academies were deployed at the railway Station to contact youngsters coming by trains.
Exam was conducted : Defence PRO Gangakhedkar
PRO (Defence) Sameer Gangakhedkar said that Army successfully conducted the written examination. “The matter is under investigation and everything will be done as per the directives of Army HQ,” said PRO Gangakhedkar.
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