Jaipur, Sept. 15 -- On a gloomy morning on August 12, 2024, Bheraram Chaudhary, the former principal of District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in Rajasthan's Jalore, left for his office. There was a pile of files in his arms. These files consisted of the reports of about 20 teachers from the district who have been accused in paper-leak cases over the last 10 years, with departmental enquiry pending against them. When he stepped in his office at around 11 am that day, he was shocked to see a vandalised room. It took him no time to realise what the invaders came to look for --- files of 20 teachers against whom the inquiry was pending. Bheraram held the files on his lap tightly and murmured: "Bach gaye". Bheraram (61), a senior second grade teacher, joined the DIET office in Jalore in 2019 as a principal. "Soon after I joined, I found the files of those 20 cases that included the names of several paper-leak masterminds and their relatives. Many of them were already suspended after which they went absconding. While police had been searching for them, they were drawing their suspension allowances monthly and living their lives happily. A formal departmental enquiry against all of them was pending with the DIET for more than 10 years despite the order being issued. Everybody was scared to touch their files as they are always known to be guarded by some influential people in the region," said Bheraram, who retired on Monday, September 8, after a one year extension given to verify documents in teacher appointments in the state. DIET's 20 pending files included the names of two of the most wanted in Rajasthan Police's Special Operation Group's (SOG) list of accused in various paper-leak cases - Chammi Bishnoi and Bhikharam Bishnoi - who are currently absconding. Chammi was working as a senior teacher in a primary school in Jalore and was booked by the police after she was found appearing in six government recruitment exams as a dummy candidate during a period of three years from 2017 to 2021. Chammi was suspended in 2021 and her job was terminated after being arrested by the SOG from Uttar Pradesh's Barsana on July 5, 2025. Bhikharam is the brother of one of the oldest paper-leak masterminds of Rajasthan, Jagadish Bishnoi, who is accused in 11 paper-leak cases in the state, as officials said. Jagadish and Bhikharam started the business by leaking a patwari recruitment examination in 2005. When Bhikharam's involvement came to the fore after Jagadish's arrest in 2008, he was suspended by the education department in 2012. Bhikharam was arrested in the same year and is currently out on bail since September 4, 2024, officials said. When Bheraram resumed the inquiry against Chammi, Bhikharam, and 18 other people in August, 2024 after 10 years, some attempts to remove him from the DIET and some attacks on his life were inevitable. "I had to be very careful. But some incidents can't be avoided," he said. Bheraram immediately dialled the SOG and reported about the attack at his office and a local police force was deployed for his security within a day. Bheraram also recalled that this attack happened only a week after he was put on awaiting posting order (APO) by the District Education Office after some false allegations were made to his authority that he was involved in some forgery in the recruitment of teachers in Jalore. "Soon the SOG received the information of his APO, it was very clear to us that some influential people who are close to Bhikharam, Chammi, and many others like them do not want this probe to be continued. Assuming some trouble, they were trying to remove Bheraram from his position because he was the one who dared to resume the inquiry after all these years. We approached the Education Department, briefed them about the matter, and withdrew his APO order so that he can continue the probe," said the Additional Director General of SOG, VK Singh. Meanwhile, Bheraram's fearless attitude during the enquiry also unmasked hundred teachers in the district who secured their job with malpractice in the recruitment process. "After a massive level of forgery was found in Rajasthan Eligibility Entrance for Teachers (REET) 2021 and also busting of an inter-state fake degree selling racket operated by several private universities in Rajasthan, the SOG, in July last year, approached the Education Department to conduct a re-verification of the degrees and other documents of all the teachers and officials who have been hired in the last five years. In view of Bheraram's performance and the tip-offs, we made a special request to the department to provide him with a one-year job extension and appoint him as the nodal officer for the re-verification process in Jalore district," said Singh. Based on Bheraram's investigation details, SOG booked 115 out of 123 teachers and education department officials only from Jalore who either impersonated in the exam, or produced fake educational degrees or forged sports or disability certificates. Apart from these 115, he also raised suspicion over many others who are currently under the agency's radar and an FIR will be lodged against them too once they get strong evidence. "His job was not only fearless but also fair most. In many other districts such as Barmer, Banswara, and Dungarpur, the re-verification process was not done properly. Had it been conducted fairly, the number of such unscrupulous teachers could have changed the entire game," said the ADG adding that the agency is working on a list of 297 more teachers whose roles are being investigated now. During the verification process, a Grade III teacher in Jalore, Navrangi Bishnoi (30), was found qualifying the written test of REET-2023 by appointing a dummy candidate Indra Kumari (31). But interrogation of the two by SOG led them to a Sub-Divisional Magistrate from Jaisalmer, Hanumana Ram (30) who impersonated two candidates during different phases of the Sub-Inspector-2021 exam. "Navrangi's husband Ramniwas Bishnoi was a school-friend of Hanumana Ram. Ahead of the SI-2021 exam, when Ramniwas approached him, Hanumana Ram agreed to appear as a dummy candidate. He also assured him to make a similar arrangement for his wife during the REET exam two years later and arranged for one Indra to impersonate in REET 2023, for whose husband Narpat Bishnoi he had impersonated in the sub-inspector exam two years ago," Singh said. This case came into light when Bheraram received some allegations against Navrangi by teachers in Jalore. "When her documents, submitted during the exam and joining period, were checked, Indra's photo was found on Navrangi's admit card. Both Navrangi and Indra were immediately arrested by SOG and Navrangi was also suspended from the job. During the interrogation, they revealed the entire network which led us to arrest SDM Hanumana Ram four days later on April 9," said the officer. At least 4,517 teachers in the district will be scrutinised during the process. "Though Bheraram's extension period was over on September 8, we made a request to the Education Department to give him one more year extension so that this same team could be sent to some other districts where we have doubt the verification has not been done properly," said Singh. Officials believe that this verification drive may lead to a bigger network of paper-leak and forged recruitments in the last few years that might yet not have come to the fore. "This massive level of forgery could have been avoided if this verification process, which is now being done by Bheraram, was done properly by the officials," the ADG said. However, he also said that the SOG is making some suggestions to the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board and the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) to make some changes in their exam conduction system to make it more transparent....