CBI to probe police paper leak

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Shimla, December 3

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has finally taken over the probe into the police constable paper leak case by registering two FIRs in Chandigarh.

It is reliably learnt that the FIRs were registered in Chandigarh on November 30. The Himachal Government had given its consent for the transfer of the case to the CBI on May 18. Prior to that, the Himachal Government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the constable paper leak for which almost 75,000 youth had appeared on March 27.

75K appeared

• The tests for filling 1,334 posts of constable was held on March 27
• 75,000 candidates had cleared their ground, physical and medical tests before taking the written exams

Timeline

• March 27: Exam held
• May 5: Leak detected
• May 6: Exam cancelled
• May 7: SIT formed
• May 18: Govt nod to CBI probe

The disclosure that the paper had been sold to many candidates, two FIRs were registered. While one FIR was registered on May 5 in the Gaggal police station in Kangra, the other was registered at the CID police station at Bharari here. In fact, the police paper leak was a major election issue raked up by the Congress as well as AAP, while raising questions over the authenticity of the selection process. It was following a sharp criticism that Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had agreed to hand over the probe to the CBI on May 18. Till then, SIT had made 73 arrests, including candidates and their family members, and seized 15 mobile phones, hard discs and Rs 8.49 lakh.

The tests for filling 1,334 posts of constable was held on March 27 and 75,000 candidates had cleared their ground, physical and medical tests before taking the written exams. The owner of a printing press in Uttar Pradesh had been arrested in July.