Pune, 5th September 2025: Pune Police have uncovered a racket involving the alleged creation and distribution of fake Kurashe sports proficiency certificates. The certificates were reportedly used by candidates to claim the 5% sports quota in government recruitment.
Shivaji Jaywant Salunkhe, 46, a resident of Fursungi in Hadapsar, Pune, and Kolhapur, and Ankush Vitthal Nagar, 40, from Chandigarh and originally from Ahilyanagar, have been arrested in connection with the case. A case has been registered at Shivajinagar Police Station.
Kurashe is an international-level sport that has been played in Maharashtra since 2012 through the Kurashe Association of Maharashtra.
Police received confidential information that state-level Kurashe competitions were allegedly being shown as having taken place even when they had not been conducted. Certificates claiming sports proficiency were then allegedly issued on the basis of these records.
A Crime Branch investigation found that between 2016 and 2019, an organisation that was not affiliated with the Indian Kurashe Association allegedly conducted or showed competitions as having been held and distributed fake certificates.
Police also found that records for the period from 2016 to 2022 were allegedly created using fake letters carrying dates from up to 10 years earlier. These letters were reportedly obtained from district associations through the president and secretary of the Maharashtra Kurashe Association.
The documents were then submitted to the Directorate of Sports for verification, allegedly making the certificates appear genuine.
According to the police investigation, the alleged racket allowed fake players to benefit from the government sports quota, potentially depriving genuine athletes of opportunities.
Police are now investigating the involvement of other people in the racket.