Bail plea rejected
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 12 2026: The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Imphal West yesterday rejected the bail application of a 30-year-old non-local from Rajasthan and remanded him to judicial custody to ensure a smooth investigation into a case of cheating by impersonation in a common recruitment examination conducted by AIIMS .

Accused Jitendra Meena (30), son of Bajranga Lal Meena, a resident of Jeerota Ward no 2, Rajasthan, was arrested on the evening of May 5 by a team of Lamphel police station from the main gate of RIMS administration block.

After completion of the police custody period, he was produced before the Court, with police requesting his judicial remand to ensure a smooth investigation.

The defence counsel, on the other hand, filed objections to the remand and requested bail.

What the APP says

The arrest followed a complaint lodged by the Deputy Director of RIMS, which revealed the existence of an organised racket involving impersonation and cheating during the AIIMS 2024 common recruitment examination.

The fraudulent act allegedly allowed the accused to secure public employment at RIMS, Imphal.

Jitendra Meena had applied for the recruitment under the Scheduled Tribe category.

The examination was held on February 25, 2025, at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Based on his marks, he was declared successful and appointed as Multi-Tasking Staff at RIMS on August 18, 2025 .

As part of post-selection formalities, facial, iris, palm, and biometric verification of candidates was conducted on March 13, 2026, at RIMS.

During verification, it was found that Jitendra Meena's fingerprint did not match the biometric data recorded at the examination center in Bhubaneswar.

This discrepancy indicated that an unknown person had impersonated him during the exam, facilitating fraudulent selection and appointment.

The accused, currently posted in the office of Dean (Academics) at RIMS, allegedly attempted to dispute the biometric findings during police custody, claiming mismatched fingerprints were due to skin problems or device malfunction.

The APP described this explanation as baseless, stating that the AIIMS examination was conducted under strict supervision using scientifically validated biometric systems.

Additionally, the accused failed to satisfactorily read, translate, or comprehend simple written content during interrogation, raising doubts about his participation in the National-level examination and corroborating the impersonation claim.

The APP emphasised the necessity of judicial custody for smooth investigation, noting that the accused had not been cooperating and appeared to be concealing vital information.

Court Order

After considering submissions from both the prosecution and defence counsels, and reviewing the case records, the Court rejected the bail application and remanded the accused to judicial custody till May 25, 2026 .

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