Fourteen candidates were caught using fake documents in physical tests conducted by the Indian Army for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme at the Hisar cantonment on Friday.

An official spokesperson of the Indian Army recruitment office informed that these candidates made an attempt to enter the recruitment drive using fake or tampered admit cards.

Hisar Army recruitment office director, Colonel Mohit Singh, said these 14 youngsters had been arrested for impersonating as candidates in the physical test conducted in Fatehabad district on Friday morning.

“The youths had tampered with and edited the admit cards before trying to take part in the physical test. We have handed them over to the police to ascertain their identity. There is a rise in such cases and we will deal strictly with the accused,” Singh disclosed.

The spokesperson notified that the Army Recruitment Rally is at half-way mark now and candidates from three tehsils of Fatehabad participated in the rally on Friday.

“There has been an increase in admission attempts with forged or tampered admit cards. These cases are being caught due to strict vigilance and transparency in the recruitment process. It has been cautioned by the Recruitment Office to initiate strict action against such fraudsters,” the spokesperson stated.

The Army’s recruitment under the Agnipath drive started in Hisar on 12 August. Youths from Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad and Jind districts are eligible to participate in the drive. About 23,000 aspirants had registered under the drive for recruitment at Hisar cantonment. The drive is on till August 29 for physical and medical examinations.

Under the Agnipath Scheme, youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years will be inducted into the armed forces for four-year tenure. Twenty five per cent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service.

The scheme, especially its feature that 75 percent of the recruits will serve only for four years and will not enjoy benefits like regular soldiers, has sparked protests in different parts of the country amid efforts by the government to assuage the youth’s concerns. Amid the protests, the Central government clarified that the scheme will be implemented and there is no question of a rollback.