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In a major crackdown on cyber-enabled fraud, the IFSO Unit of Delhi Police has allegedly dismantled a sophisticated fake government recruitment racket that targeted hundreds of job aspirants by impersonating the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ministry of Culture, officials said on Saturday.
According to Delhi Police, the accused allegedly created a forged and deceptively authentic ASI recruitment portal and advertised non-existent government vacancies to exploit unemployed youth across the country. The case has been registered vide FIR No. 268/25 under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 340(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at PS Special Cell. Police alleged that the accused projected vacancies for seven posts of Curator and 84 posts of Junior Assistant, and circulated links to an alleged fake recruitment website across college student groups, online forums, and messaging platforms. The fraudulent portal allegedly replicated the official ASI website, using authentic logos, colour schemes and layouts, making it nearly indistinguishable from a genuine government site. Hundreds of unsuspecting candidates allegedly applied online, believing they were participating in a legitimate recruitment drive. From these, around 150 candidates were allegedly shortlisted after assessing their family background and financial standing, enabling the accused to allegedly identify potential victims for extortion at later stages, Delhi Police said. To further lend credibility to the alleged scam, the accused allegedly booked a reputed examination centre in Jaipur, commonly used for official government exams, and allegedly conducted a written test strictly following standard government examination protocols. Police alleged that the accused planned to declare nearly 50 per cent of the candidates successful and later demand hefty bribes during the interview stage in exchange for "guaranteed selection" and appointment letters. However, the alleged scam was foiled before reaching the interview stage due to timely intelligence-led intervention by the IFSO Unit. Through technical surveillance and coordinated field operations, the accused were allegedly apprehended, preventing significant financial and emotional losses to innocent job seekers, police added. The main accused, Kuldeep (30), a resident of Jaipur and a B.Com graduate pursuing LL.B., and co-accused Piyush (25), a B.Tech (Computer Science) graduate, were arrested. Police said recoveries allegedly include mobile phones, laptops, a desktop computer, passbooks, an iPad and a tablet. Delhi Police described the operation as an example of proactive cyber policing and reiterated that investigation in the case is ongoing. (ANI)
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