As a dummy candidate for those who paid money to have him represent them in police recruitment tests, Suraj Bahadur’s main job was to run. But when a team from the detective department knocked on his door on Thursday night, the athletic youth became leaden-footed.

Suraj, 22, is the first dummy candidate to be arrested in the crackdown on racketeers who helped applicants for jobs in the constabulary to be selected without appearing for the recruitment test at Konnagar in January. A resident of Serampore, Hooghly, Suraj was employed by scam masterminds Gopal and Bappa Das. Investigators believe he represented candidates in previous recruitment tests, too.

“We have been able to identify one candidate he represented. That youth was not selected. We have information that Suraj stood in for some other persons, and we are trying to find out who they are,” an officer said.

How Suraj ran the 100 metres and the 800 metres for more than one candidate in the same round of recruitment is a mystery.

Five of the constables represented by dummy candidates and inducted into the force have been arrested. A sixth is under investigation for resigning — the youth said he wanted to study for his graduation — after the scam was detected.

Another person, photographer Partho Saha, has been arrested on charges of superimposing pictures of the dummy candidates on the admit cards of those they represented. When Metro visited Saha’s Konnagar house, Kiran Villa, on Friday, family members declined comment. But neighbours described Saha as a polite and helpful person.

“I had never imagined that such a well-mannered man from a respectable family could be involved in criminal activity,” said Swapna Dey, who lives next door.

Dentist Angshuman Dutta, whose clinic is near Saha’s studio, said he and the photographer went to the same school. “I had noticed youths aged 20-25 visiting his studio often but never suspected anything was amiss until his arrest.”

A senior officer in Lalbazar said the racket had been thriving for at least seven years. Gopal and Bappa, former constables dismissed from service, would hire youths like Suraj to masquerade as applicants. Their fee was Rs 1.5-3 lakh for each job.

What Suraj received for his efforts was a pittance. He would get around Rs 10,000.