A fresh case of job fraud has emerged from the Nashik Road Currency Note Press, where an employee secured a position using a forged diploma certificate. The accused, identified as 32-year-old Vivek Sureshpal Singh Panwar, originally from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, currently resides in Siddheshwarnagar near Jail Road, Nashik. Investigations revealed that Panwar submitted a fake Diploma in Engineering (Printing) certificate during the recruitment drive conducted in 2022–23. This case follows an earlier fraud where seven individuals from Bihar manipulated the hiring process using dummy candidates and forged documents to obtain jobs in the prestigious institution.
Earlier, an internal investigation by the Note Press exposed that Ravi Ranjan Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Shishupal Kumar, Ayush Raj, Rajeev Singh, another Sandeep Kumar, and Ashutosh Kumar, all residents of Nalanda, Bihar, had used fake educational certificates and dummy candidates during the recruitment process. These suspects managed to secure government jobs by clearing the exams fraudulently and presenting forged diplomas and ITI certificates. The Press's Deputy Manager, Vikramsingh Suryakant Chaudhary, lodged a complaint with the Nashik Suburban Police, after which legal proceedings were initiated against the culprits under various sections.
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The recruitment exams were conducted between March 2022 and March 2023 at a test center near the IT Park in Powai, Mumbai. The hiring process was meant for the posts of Junior Technician in printing, control, workshop, and electrical departments, along with Supervisor positions. The investigation later found that the accused had sent dummy candidates to the examination centers, who appeared for the tests on behalf of the real applicants. These imposters passed the exams and helped secure the original candidates high-paying jobs in the note press, effectively bypassing genuine merit-based recruitment.
Following regular document verification by the Note Press, irregularities were found in the certificates submitted by several candidates. Upon closer inspection, the documents were confirmed to be forged. An internal inquiry confirmed that some applicants had used fraudulent methods to gain employment, denying deserving candidates their rightful opportunity. With Vivek Panwar's fraud now proven, a second FIR has been filed. This ongoing series of fraudulent recruitments has raised serious concerns about the integrity of recruitment procedures and the need for stricter background checks and document verification at critical government institutions like the Currency Note Press.