Pune: A racket involving fake participation certificates in Kurash competitions, allegedly used by aspirants to claim seats under the sports quota in recruitment examinations, was unearthed by Pune police. Kurash is an ancient form of upright jacket wrestling played in Maharashtra under the state Kurash Association since 2012.The probe revealed that several candidates across Maharashtra allegedly paid money for the certificates, with some securing govt jobs through the sports quota between 2016 and 2026. They are currently working in various state govt departments.Shivajinagar police have registered an FIR under sections 3(5), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 339, 340(2), 61(2) of BNS and arrested Ankush Vitthal Nagar, state president of the association, and its secretary Shivaji Jaywant Salunkhe. Several other district-level office bearers, who allegedly acted as mediators between aspirants and the key accused, have also been named in the case.Shankar Khatke, assistant commissioner of police with the crime branch who is investigating the case, told TOI, “Both Nagar and Salunkhe were produced before the court and have been remanded in police custody till Sept 8.”The racket came to light during a crime branch investigation after police received information this June about the use of suspected fake sports certificates in the recent police recruitment process in Pune.A detailed probe found that the racket was not confined to the city but spread across the state. Investigators found several discrepancies in the certificates and participation letters. In many cases, the documents were issued either before or after the actual dates of the competitions.Some certificates mentioned Dharashiv and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, names these districts adopted only in 2023, even though the competitions were held much before the renaming, indicating that the documents may have been prepared later.In some instances, male participants were shown as having participated in competitions meant for women candidates. A senior crime branch officer told TOI that an FIR was registered on Thursday after the detailed probe revealed that several such certificates and participation letters had been fraudulently issued across various districts in Maharashtra.Maharashtra govt provides 5% reservation in jobs for aspirants applying through the sports quota, for which several games approved by the state govt are considered. A senior official from the state sports commissionerate said Dragon Boat, Sepak Takraw and others are not popular but included in the eligible category for sports quota and are often used by aspirants or fraudsters to create fake certificates.Khatke said fraudsters use fake participation certificates to apply for jobs under the sports quota. “We are also investigating the matter with the sports department to ascertain how these certificates were verified and whether they can share details,” he added.Dipak Singla, state commissioner of sports and youth services, said that the department had received complaints about the two accused from the state Kurash association some six months ago and had conducted an inquiry. “Some of their certificates were cancelled after the inquiry,” he added.The sports department maintains data based on information submitted and certified by the respective associations. “If the data is manipulated, it is part of a criminal investigation. At the sports department, competition participation data is verified and then certificates are issued,” Singla said.
