12 Days Into Training For Border Force, A Fingerprint Exposed His Fraud

He had cleared the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examination. He had passed the medical test. He had received his appointment letter. He had even reported to the Border Security Force training centre in Bengaluru and completed nearly two weeks of training.

Then came a routine biometric verification.

Within seconds, the machine flashed a warning that would unravel an alleged recruitment fraud stretching from Jabalpur to Gwalior and raise fresh questions about the shadowy "solver gangs" that have repeatedly targeted competitive examinations in Madhya Pradesh.

According to police, 24-year-old Shiv Singh, a resident of Ranjhi in Jabalpur, had successfully secured appointment as a BSF Constable (GD). Everything appeared normal until March 21, when officials conducted the final document verification and biometric matching process at the training centre.

The fingerprints did not match. Officials reportedly repeated the verification multiple times. The result remained the same a complete mismatch. What followed was an investigation that allegedly revealed a startling truth the man undergoing BSF training may not have been the person who actually appeared in the recruitment examination.

Investigators suspect that Shiv Singh used a proxy candidate, commonly known as a "solver," to clear critical stages of the recruitment process, including the SSC examination and medical assessment. Police sources say that during questioning, the accused admitted to paying Rs 50,000 to an unidentified person who allegedly appeared on his behalf during the selection process.

The alleged plan was simple. A more qualified or prepared candidate would clear the exam and medical stages. Once the selection was secured, the actual beneficiary would step in and join service.

According to police, one of the crucial stages of the recruitment process took place on February 19, 2025, at an examination centre located under the jurisdiction of Bijoli police station in Gwalior.

Following a complaint, police registered a case of cheating and related offences. CSP Robin Jain said investigators are now trying to identify not only the alleged solver but also the network that arranged the impersonation. "We are investigating how contact was established, who arranged the proxy candidate, who financed the operation and whether similar recruitments were manipulated using the same network," a police officer said.

The latest BSF recruitment fraud has revived memories of Gwalior's long association with examination rackets. Over the years, the region has repeatedly surfaced in investigations involving recruitment examinations, including constable recruitment tests, teacher recruitment exams, Patwari examinations and the infamous Vyapam-linked network that exposed large-scale impersonation, solver gangs and admission fraud across Madhya Pradesh.

Investigators have frequently found that organised networks recruit talented candidates, arrange forged identity documents, manipulate photographs and deploy proxy examinees for government jobs carrying the promise of stable salaries and social prestige.

Officials fear the BSF case could be another chapter in that playbook. Police are now trying to identify the mystery candidate who allegedly took the examination and medical test on behalf of Shiv Singh. Investigators are examining mobile phone records, financial transactions, examination centre data and CCTV footage to determine whether the operation involved a larger organised gang.