SOG arrests axed clerk in fake sports certificate racket

Jaipur: A suspended upper division clerk (UDC) of the education dept was arrested Thursday by the Special Operations Group (SOG) as part of its ongoing probe into the fake Taekwondo sports certificate racket linked to the 2022 grade III teacher recruitment, officials said.

ADG (SOG) Vishal Bansal identified the accused as Jagdish Saran, 33, a resident of Nagaur district, who was earlier posted at Shri Karni Govt Senior Secondary School in Deshnok, Bikaner.

Investigators said he allegedly acted as a key conduit in procuring forged sports certificates for candidates seeking jobs under the sports quota.

According to Bansal, the Staff Selection Board invited applications in 2022 for teachers, with 2% seats reserved for sportspersons.

During scrutiny, 38 candidates were shortlisted on the basis of Taekwondo certificates.

Subsequent investigation revealed that several candidates secured fake certificates through a network of middlemen.

Officials said forged verification reports were sent to the Directorate of Elementary Education, Bikaner, through email IDs designed to resemble those of the Taekwondo Federation of India. The digital trail led investigators to a wider conspiracy involving fabrication of documents and impersonation.

In March this year, SOG teams arrested 20 candidates, three associates and a middleman across Rajasthan.

During interrogation, one of the candidates told police he paid Rs 30,000 to Saran around three years ago for a forged certificate linked to a national-level Taekwondo championship held at Visakhapatnam.

Investigators said Saran struck the deal at a wedding in Bikaner, initially quoting Rs 2.30 lakh for arranging the certificate. He allegedly sourced the forged document through his relative, a physical training instructor from Nagaur, who is now absconding.

Police said the accused is suspected to have supplied fake certificates to several other candidates, including Mumtaz, Jyotiraditya, Mangilal, Babita Jakhad and Mamta Kumari.

Saran was earlier arrested in another SOG case involving fake sports certificates in a tug-of-war event and was already in judicial custody since April 2024. He was brought on a production warrant and formally arrested in the present case on April 22 at 2.10 pm.

He was produced before a court on Thursday, which granted police custody till Saturday. Officials said further investigation is under way to identify more beneficiaries of the racket and trace the absconding accused.
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