Rajasthan ex-CM Gehlot's PSO, his son arrested in 2021 paper leak case 

A head constable and his son were arrested by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) in connection with the sub-inspector recruitment exam 2021 paper leak case, a top official said.

The accused head constable Rajkumar Yadav was the personal security officer (PSO) of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, and had allegedly provided the paper to his son Bharat Yadav, the official said. Though he cleared the written examination, he failed the physical test, he said.

Rajkumar Yadav was serving in Gehlot's security during his tenure as chief minister and continued as his PSO after the BJP came to power in the state. He has also previously been PSO to former Cabinet minister Mahendrajit Malviya. Both the accused have been sent to police remand till August 12, he added.

Speaking about the arrest of the PSO, Gehlot in a post on X said, "It has come to light through the media that a head constable of Jaipur Police Line and his son deployed for my security have been detained by the SOG. If any person is involved in any crime, the law should do its job. I hope that the SOG will investigate this case without any pressure and reach a logical conclusion." According to the police, the PSO was acquainted with Malviya's then personal secretary, Kundan Kumar Pandya, who is accused of obtaining the leaked SI recruitment paper from then Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) member Babulal Katara. Pandya allegedly passed the paper to two associates, one of whom was Rajkumar Yadav.

Pandya was arrested by the SOG on June 5 in connection with the same case.

The SOG has been probing the high profile recruitment exam leak case, which has led to several arrests of government officials and intermediaries.

The RPSC had in 2021 advertised 859 posts for sub-inspector and platoon commander. When the allegations of a paper leak surfaced during the exam, the government handed over the investigation to the SOG of Rajasthan Police, the official said.

More than 120 accused, including 54 trainee sub-inspectors allegedly involved in the paper leak, have been arrested, an official statement said.

The Rajasthan government had last year formed a Cabinet sub-committee to take a decision to whether cancel the exam or not. The committee submitted in the high court that the investigation into the case is still ongoing, so it would not be right to cancel the exam.