It is one of India's most coveted exams with lakhs vying to crack it, but for two young women from Madhya Pradesh, the race this week came down to a curious stalemate - the same first name, the same roll number and the same rank.
Both Ayasha Fatima, 23, from Dewas district and Ayasha Makrani, 26, from Alirajpur district, say they secured the 184th rank in the civil services exam, which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit bureaucrats for various government departments.
The two women, who live about 200 kilometres apart, have produced admit cards with the same roll number to back their claims. They have also filed complaints with the local police and the UPSC, alleging fraud and seeking clarification.
"I have studied hard for two years and I will not let anyone else take my right," Ms Makrani told NDTV. "I want justice from the UPSC and the government."
Ms Fatima echoed her sentiments and said she was shocked to learn that someone else had the same roll number as hers. "I will see that there should be no such fraud, whatever memorandum or anything is to be given, I will see further," she said.
A closer look at their admit cards reveals more discrepancies. Ms Makrani's card mentions the date of the personality test - a crucial component of the exam - as April 25, 2023, and the day as Thursday. Ms Fatima's card shows the same date but the day as Tuesday. According to the calendar, April 25, 2023, was a Tuesday.
Moreover, Ms Fatima's card has a watermark of UPSC with a QR code, while Ms Makrani's card resembles a printout on plain paper without any QR code.
Sources in the UPSC told NDTV that they had made the necessary corrections and that Ms Fatima was the correct candidate. They also said that they would investigate how such an error occurred.
The civil service exam is one of the most competitive and challenging exams in India, with more than one million applicants vying for about 800 vacancies every year. The exam consists of three stages: a preliminary test, a main exam and a personality test. The entire process takes more than a year to complete.
