Karnataka: CID arrests ADGP Amrit Paul in PSI recruitment scam
Bengaluru, July 4: The Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Monday arrested an ADGP-rank officer in connection with the police sub-inspector recruitment scam, highly-placed police sources informed PTI.
He was heading the recruitment cell when the scam came to light in April, this year. Paul was transferred to the post of the ADGP, Internal Security Division, following the reports of large-scale irregularities.
The Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets of the fraudulent candidates were allegedly tampered in the recruitment division itself. They also claimed that Paul was allegedly in the know of the happenings, sources added.
After quizzing him for four years, he was arrested. “After his arrest, he was taken to the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital (AB Vajpayee MC&RI) for medical examination,” a police official said.
The scam first came to light in Kalaburagi district, when the OMR sheet of a candidate was posted on social media showing that despite answering only 21 out of 100 questions, he cleared the exam. This triggered public outrage against the manner in which the exam was conducted. The police probed the matter and registered a case against the candidate and the person who had posted it.
The probe further led to the arrest of an absconding BJP leader, and owner of ‘Gnana Jyothi English Medium School’ in Kalaburagi, Divya Hagaragi, the college principal Kashinath, and other staff. A few police officers, including a deputy superintendent of police, inspector, sub-inspector, constables and the gunman of an MLA were also arrested. It is also alleged that a candidate from Malleshwaram, purportedly a relative of a senior politician, was also arrested in this case.
About 70 people, including 40 ‘selected’ candidates, agents, exam centre staff and police personnel, have been arrested so far in this connection, sources said. The suspected candidates in the scam had allegedly paid Rs 70 lakh each to get a job.
The PSI recruitment drive started in October 2021 to fill 545 posts and 54,041 people wrote the exam. After the scam came to light, the government annulled the PSI recruitment exam and ordered that it should be conducted afresh. Enraged with this move, a few candidates staged demonstrations demanding cancellation of the order which annulled the exam.
