SOG arrests fire officer for allegedly using fake diplomas to secure govt job

Jaipur: The Special Operations Group (SOG) Friday arrested a woman posted as an assistant fire officer (AFO) for allegedly securing her govt job by using fake diplomas and forged documents to clear a 2021 recruitment test.

SOG additional director general of police Vishal Bansal said the accused, Sobia Syed, posted as an AFO in the Malviya Nagar Zone at the time of arrest, is charged with submitting dubious educational credentials. The marks she obtained in the practical and physical efficiency exams were inconsistent with her performance in the written test, Bansal said.

Syed is also under suspicion for submitting more than one degree and diploma obtained in the same academic session. Investigators said Syed obtained a BTech degree in regular mode from Rajasthan Technical University, Kota, while simultaneously completing a one-year diploma in Fire and Safety Engineering, also in regular mode, from an institute in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

She went on to obtain a second diploma from the same Nagpur institute while securing a third from an University in Jhunjhunu in the same academic session, despite the two institutes being nearly 900 kms away.

DIG Paris Dehmukh said that the SOG failed to find any supporting documents to the diplomas issued from Nagpur. "The results of her physical efficiency exam also indicate multiple irregularities, which are being investigated," he told TOI.

Syed is accused of misleading the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board (RSSB) board, which conducted the AFO test, and the Local Self Government department, which is the appointing authority.

Bansal said the SOG received information indicating irregularities in the recruitment test, after which it perused relevant records and examined video footage of the physical efficiency test. A case was registered against Syed based on this investigation.

The SOG has reported receiving several complaints alleging the use of fake diplomas and forged documents in the Assistant Fire Officer and Fireman Recruitment Examination, 2021, and promised strict action against anyone found guilty.



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