UPSC CSE 2025: Another fake rank claim surfaces; Bulandshahr’s Shikha admits AIR 113 mix-up

Uttar Pradesh woman who claimed AIR 113 earlier admits error after inquiry finds she had not cleared Mains examination.

Less than a week after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) declared the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025 final results, a second case of a false rank claim has surfaced, and this time from Uttar Pradesh.

Shikha Gautam, a candidate from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, who had earlier claimed to have secured All India Rank (AIR) 113, has now acknowledged that the claim was a mistake after a district-level inquiry found that she had not qualified the UPSC Main examination.

Speaking to ANI news agency, Shikha said that the confusion occurred because she had checked only the name in the UPSC merit list and not the roll number.

“The one who has been selected is a different Shikha. As both our names are the same and I only checked the name in the PDF and did not check the roll number, that was my mistake,” she said.

The development comes just days after a similar controversy involving two candidates named Akanksha Singh claiming AIR 301, which was later clarified by the UPSC.

AIR 113 claim found to be false

When the UPSC CSE 2025 results were announced on March 6, Shikha Gautam from Bulandshahr claimed that she had secured AIR 113 in the examination. Reported to be the daughter of a fourth-grade staff member, her story initially gained media attention for her modest background.

However, another candidate named Shikha Gautam from Rohtak, Haryana, also claimed the same rank and wrote to UPSC seeking clarification after noticing videos circulating on social media about the Bulandshahr claim.

Following this, the district administration in Bulandshahr initiated an inquiry.

During the verification process, officials found that Shikha Gautam had not cleared the UPSC Main examination and therefore was not shortlisted for the interview stage, making it impossible for her to have secured a final rank.

Officials also noted that in some documents her name was recorded as Shikha Rani.

Celebrations held in village after claim

According to reports, Shikha Gautam had informed her family that she had been selected in the UPSC examination after the results were declared.

Her family and villagers reportedly celebrated the news with garlands, drums and felicitations, believing the claim to be true.

However, after the district administration’s inquiry, Shikha Gautam and her family acknowledged the mistake, officials said.

Shikha's father, Premchand, told ANI, "As soon as her name came in the selection, she told us that she has been selected. We did not know this was some other Shikha who had been selected... She was overwhelmed with joy, and she only saw the name and made a mistake..."

Who is the real AIR 113 candidate?

The candidate who actually secured AIR 113 is Shikha from Rohtak, Haryana. According to reports, she is currently posted as a Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) in Sampla, Rohtak district.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Economics from Delhi and had earlier secured seventh rank in the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination, though she did not join as she was selected for the Haryana Civil Service the same year.

She joined the Haryana government in May 2025 and has been posted in Sampla since July 2025.

Second fraud claim

The development comes just days after another controversy involving two candidates named Akanksha Singh claiming AIR 301 in the UPSC CSE 2025 results.

Following the confusion, the UPSC clarified that the rank belongs to Akanksha Singh from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh.

The confusion had arisen after another candidate with the same name from Ara in Bihar also claimed the rank, citing the presence of the name in the merit list.

Subsequent verification revealed discrepancies in the documents shared by the Bihar candidate. The Ghazipur candidate, meanwhile, maintained that the result listed on the UPSC website belonged to her.

The Bihar candidate, who was daughter of Brahmeshwar Singh, founder of the banned militia Ranvir Sena, later acknowledged the discrepancy in her claim, bringing the controversy to a close.