Moreover, the racket could have been busted much earlier since the Hooghly police had arrested few people on charges of impersonating actual candidates. “But they were not interrogated properly. The racket could have been busted much earlier had they been interrogated properly,” said a city police officer.

Apart from launching a manhunt to nab the kingpin of the racket, Gopal Das, who was dismissed from the city police in February this year on charges of raping a woman, the police are also searching for Bappa — a resident of Kanaipur Colony near Konnagar in Hooghly. A team was sent to Konnagar to round up the members of the racket.

Both Bappa and Gopal, however, managed to flee from their homes before policemen could raid their houses, said Jawed Shamim, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Detective Department.

Meanwhile, a team of detectives also visited the Police Training School today and spoke to some constables who were recruited recently. The existence of the racket came to light following the interrogation of a youth, who was arrested for allegedly securing a job in police by using fraudulent means.

The members of the racket had fielded dummy candidates in the physical test, mandatory in the constable recruitment examination.