CBI files chargesheet against 24 in police recruitment scam

New Delhi, November 12

The anti-graft central probe agency, CBI, today said it had filed a chargesheet in a special Jammu court against 24 persons, including a former BSF commandant, for allegedly leaking the question paper of police sub-inspector (SI) recruitment examination conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board.

77 premises searched so far

• Officials have searched 77 places, including in J&K, Haryana, Delhi and Bengaluru, amid probe into the paper leak scam.
• An accused had managed to get the question paper from a printing press and sold the same to aspirants for Rs 20-30 lakh.
• The exam to hire youth on 1,200 posts of sub-inspectors was held on March 27. The CBI took over the probe on August 3.

In the chargesheet, the CBI alleged that Yatin Yadav of Rewari had accessed the question paper through an Okhla-based printing press employee Pradip Kumar Katiyar, officials stated.

Yadav used a network of middlemen and officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and central paramilitary forces to target aspirants willing to cough up Rs 20-30 lakh to get through the recruitment process through which 1,200 posts in the Jammu and Kashmir Police were to be filled up, the officials further said.

A CBI spokesperson said the case was registered on August 3 on the request of the J&K government for investigation into the allegations of irregularities in written examination conducted by the JKSSB on March 27. The results of the examination were declared on June 4, he added.

The investigation was spread across several states involving analysis of voluminous technical data and examination of large number of witnesses, the official said, adding that searches were conducted at around 77 places including in J&K, Haryana, Delhi and Bengaluru.

Twenty persons were arrested and Rs 61.79 lakh (approx) was recovered, he said, adding that further investigation was continuing to unearth larger conspiracy.