Fake Social Media Accounts Impersonating UPSC Topper Shruti Sharma Crop Up Overnight

Shruti Sharma completed her postgraduate studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and has been studying for the civil services for the past four years as a student of Jamia Millia Islamia's Residential Coaching Academy.

UPSC 2021 Topper: Shruti Sharma (Image Source: ABP Network)

New Delhi: Delhi’s Shruti Sharma, a resident of Basta in the Bijnor district, has secured the first rank in the civil services examination this year. Soon after, Shruti Sharma dominated social media, and fake social media accounts of UPSC exam topper have cropped up on Twitter. In the results declared on Monday, it was found that 25-year-old Shruti Sharma has topped the UPSC. According to the Commission, three of the final qualifying candidates are women. Shruti Sharma of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and St. Stephen's College in New Delhi topped the UPSC results declared. The topper's list is followed by Ankita Agarwal, Gamini Singla and Aishwarya Verma. 

In an interview given to the Times of India, Shruti Sharma told that her preparation for the exam was sour and sweet. 

She has achieved this feat after giving two attempts. Shruti's mother Rachna Sharma said that while filling out the form last year, Shruti had mistakenly filled Hindi instead of English in the language. If she had gotten such a great score in the absence of the language chosen by her, Shruti was confident that if she had written the exam in English, she would have passed out for sure.

"Credit goes to everyone who was involved in my journey, especially my parents. They were extremely supportive and friends who guided me," she said.

Sharma completed her postgraduate studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and has been studying civil services for the past four years as a student of Jamia Millia Islamia's Residential Coaching Academy.

Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla have secured the second and third rank respectively. A total of 685 candidates - 508 men and 177 women - have qualified and they have been recommended by the Commission for appointment to various central services, the UPSC said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the successful candidates and had words of encouragement for those who could not clear the exam.

"Congratulations to all those who have cleared the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021. My best wishes to these youngsters who are embarking on their administrative careers at an important time of India's development journey, when we are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

"I fully understand the disappointment of those who couldn't clear the Civil Services Exam but I also know that these are outstanding youngsters who will make a mark in any field they pursue and make India proud. My best wishes to them," the prime minister tweeted.

According to the Commission, 244 of the successful candidates are from the general category, 73 from the Economically Weaker Sections, 203 from Other Backward Classes, 105 from the Scheduled Castes, and 60 from the Scheduled Tribes.

Netizens posted how several accounts of this year’s topper, Shruti Sharma, have mushroomed overnight:

Soon after Shruti Sharma topped UPSC, People started creating fake accounts in her name. Beware! 👇🏽 https://t.co/X4vZ9jNRdv

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 30, 2022

Fake pages being created in the name of #ShrutiSharma #upsctopper 😐🙏.
Like this account RENAMED itself to Shruti Sharma IAS 😐 after #upscresult declared.

Please beware of such fake pages and report them 🙏. pic.twitter.com/3BPLDJgnSZ

— Sunny Nehra (@sunnynehrabro) May 30, 2022

One hour hua result ayay hua aur fake account dekho AIR-1 Shruti Sharma kay....kaha sa atay hai yeh log #UPSC #upscresult pic.twitter.com/3L3ChyS0dw

— Reshav Sharma 🇮🇳 (@reshav_shxrma) May 30, 2022

Typical stuff! Now you will see 100s of fake ids in the name of UPSC toppers! This one has stated thanking people already. Report. https://t.co/U3G6sL5eG1

— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) May 30, 2022

#UPSC CSE 2021 results are out. Congratulations to all rank holders as they set foot to reinforce the steel frame.

It is also that time of the year when fake Social Media accounts of the toppers surface and gain traction for a couple of days, especially on Twitter.

— Ansuman Rath 🇮🇳 (@_AnsumanRath) May 30, 2022

When real UPSC toppers will come to create accounts on social media, they will not find any username. 😀

— Somesh Upadhyay, IAS (@Somesh_IAS) August 6, 2020