Bengaluru: The Vijayanagar Police of Bengaluru have busted a fake Government job racket, with the arrest of  a South- Western Railway Chief Train Ticket Inspector on charges of cheating competitive exam aspirants to the tune of lakhs of rupees.

The arrested has been identified as 49-year-old Govindaraj,  who worked in South Western Railway Office at Majestic in Bengaluru and a resident of Nagarabhavi D Group Layout in Bengaluru.

Acting on a tip off, the Police took Govindaraj into custody on  Saturday night when he was walking out of the house of one Yogaramesh in Vijayanagar 4th Cross, after reportedly  having talks with him on ensuring the success of his (Yogaramesh) daughter who had appeared for the KAS written re-exam held on Sunday.

Though Govindaraj attempted to flee, the Police caught hold of him and seized four cell phones and some records pertaining to the case from him.

A  case has been registered against the accused Govindaraj  under Sections 318(4), 61(1) (A) and  3(5) of BNSS.

Explaining the modus operandi of Govindaraj, who is a Railways employee, the Police said that the accused used to identify gullible aspirants in different districts, with the help of middlemen. Later, Govindaraj used to contact them over phone and promise them of PDO post upon payment of Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 50 lakh for ensuring their success in KAS preliminary exam.

 Upon reaching an ‘agreement,’ Govindaraj used to ask the candidates to write only the answers which they know correctly in the OMR sheet and leave the questions blank if they do not know the answers.

Later, he used to collect the SSLC, degree and other academic qualification marks cards, cheques and other documents from them as a matter of trust, according to the Police.

During the course of investigation, Govindaraj is said to have cheated more than 45 candidates appearing for KAS, PDO, Village Accountant and other such competitive exams. The Police suspect the involvement of others also in the case. 

The accused Govindaraj is said to have cheated many in the past too,with the Bengaluru CCB Police filing a case against him on charges of exam malpractices and cheating in 2018.