26 February,2026 07:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania
Soon after, Sagar Nivrutti pretends to collapse due to fatigue while the 100-metre run was still underway
Four aspiring police constables were caught cheating during the Maharashtra Police Recruitment Drive at the Armed Police Headquarters at Marol Police Camp in Andheri East on Tuesday.
Sagar Nivrutti exchanges his RFID tag with his friend Omkar Wanjud, who is a better runner and not interested in applying
In the first incident, a candidate exchanged his RFID tag, used for calculating the distance run, with his friend. In the second incident, two candidates took a shortcut in the third round of the 1600-metre run to complete the task. The Powai police registered an FIR against the four candidates and served them notice to be present for investigations.
Nivrutti is rushed by police officers to hospital and admitted for treatment. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
On Tuesday, two friends, Sagar Nivrutti, 24, and Omkar Wanjud, 25, took part in the 100-metre running test at Marol Police Training Ground. Nivrutti is a good runner but wasn't aspiring to join the police force. So he ran for Wanjud, to get him cleared. Just before the test began, Wanjud swapped his RFID chip with Nivrutti. Wanjud then pretended to collapse and was rushed to the HBT Trauma Care Hospital. Meanwhile, Nivrutti completed the run carrying Wanjud's chip.
Meanwhile, Omkar Wanjud completes the race carrying Nivrutti's RFID chip, leading cops to get suspicious
When the police sent a report regarding Wanjud from the hospital to the training ground, they found that he had already completed the run. The fraud came to light after the police checked CCTV footage of the ground.
The police check CCTV footage of the ground and discover that the RFID chips had been swapped to give Nivrutti an advantage; both are booked
During the 1600-metre run test, two candidates were caught taking a shortcut in the third round to complete the task. Scrutiny of CCTV footage revealed that the candidates failed to complete the mandatory four laps (400 metres each). Omkar Ravindra Pawar from Nashik, and Suyash Sitaram Khande from Mumbai, clocked run times that were suspiciously low. CCTV footage confirmed that they had cheated.
Two separate FIRs were registered against the four candidates under Sections 3(5), 318(4) and 319(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
Omkar Ravindra Pawar from Nashik, and Suyash Sitaram Khande from Mumbai took a shortcut in the 1600-metre run by going off the track and re-entering later; both were booked
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are used in police recruitment across India to accurately measure the time taken by candidates in physical endurance tests, to ensure transparency. This tags at typically to the candidate's ankle or shoe.
6000+
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