In the case of securing employment in the city police force’s constable recruitment process by submitting a forged certificate in the sport of Kurash, a couple from Kolhapur has been arrested by a team from the Pune Police Crime Branch.
The investigation has revealed that this couple is related to Shivaji Salunkhe, the secretary of the Maharashtra State Kurash Association.
The arrested couple has been identified as Shruti Punagavkar (age 45) and Dhairyashil Punagavkar (age 51), both residents of Kolhapur.
In connection with this crime, the association’s president, Ankush Nagar, and secretary, Shivaji Salunkhe, have also been arrested. So far, four people have been taken into custody in this case, while inquiries are still ongoing with several others, according to Additional Police Commissioner of the Crime Branch, Tejaswi Satpute.
The arrest of the Punegaonkar couple from Kolhapur has revealed that the racket’s links extend all the way to Kolhapur.
The Punegaonkar couple are relatives of the accused secretary, Shivaji Salunkhe. The Punegaonkars run a sports academy in Kolhapur. All the forged documents prepared in connection with the Kurash sports certificates were produced at this very academy run by the Punegaonkar couple.
When Salunkhe was arrested, he attempted to destroy evidence by hiding these forged documents. During the interrogation of Salunkhe and Nagar, the name of the Punegaonkar couple came to light, according to information provided by Satpute.
Office-bearers of the association have distributed more than a thousand certificates across the state over the past eleven years.
The police are now verifying how many people secured jobs in various government departments on the basis of these certificates. Therefore, this case is not limited to just 19 personnel in the Pune police force; it is suspected that the threads of this racket extend into various government recruitment processes across the state.
The accused issued certificates by falsely presenting individuals who had not actually participated in the sport of Kurash as players.
Police have indicated the possibility that these certificates may have been used in recruitment processes across various departments of the state government.