New Delhi: On Monday, the CBI raided residential premises linked to former chairperson and secretary of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) as well premises linked to the controller of examination of CGPSC in Raipur and Bhilai in connection with the alleged irregularities in PSC recruitment between 2020 and 2022.
Former CGPSC chairperson Taman Singh Sonwani and former secretary Jeevan Kishore Dhruv were booked 9 July by the Central Bureau of Investigation under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 7, 7-A and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Additionally, 36 out of the 50 candidates, who appeared at an exam centre where a relative of Sonwani was present, allegedly cleared the entrance exam held for the post of assistant professor.
Apart from these two PSC functionaries, there are allegations that sons, daughters, relatives and acquaintances of several Congress leaders, civil servants, businessmen, and even the secretary of the governor got selected as deputy collectors, excise officers, among others.
ThePrint explains how the PSC scam came to light and the findings so far in the case that allegedly dates back to the Congress rule in Chhattisgarh.
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How case started
The CBI case stems from two FIRs filed by Chhattisgarh Police at the Anti-Corruption/Economic Offence Wing (EOW) and Balod district on complaint of a job aspirant who appeared in the 2021 CGPSC exam.
In April, the CBI took over the probe after the Vishnu Deo Sai-led government gave its consent for a probe by the federal probe agency to look into these allegations. A CBI probe into allegations of favouritism and nepotism in the 2021 CGPSC exam was a poll promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly elections late last year.
The EOW’s FIR is based on a complaint of former state home minister Nankiram Kanwar, who wrote to Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan in June last year alleging mass irregularities by CGPSC in recruitment exams.
Sonwani previously worked as secretary to former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and there was massive wrongdoings under his chairmanship, including several of his relatives getting government jobs through CGPSC recruitment exams, Kanwar alleged.
Kanwar had listed 18 alleged beneficiaries of corruption at the top level, including Sonwani’s son, nephew and their wives, wards of eight Congress leaders and children of the CGPSC secretary and the secretary to governor.
‘Kin favoured in selection’
Subsequently, the EOW then submitted to the Raj Bhavan that the allegations of nepotism were found to be prima facie true. It then went on to lodge an FIR in February.
“On the basis of the said letter, prima facie it was found that Taman Singh Sonwani, chairman and other persons of Public Service Commission (PSC), secretary and while holding various posts, conducting examination, examination process and interview, his son, daughter, relatives like Nitesh Sonwani, son of Taman Singh, as Deputy Collector and his elder brother son of Sahil Sonwani has been selected as DSP and sister’s daughter Sunita Joshi has been selected as Labour Officer. In 2020, Sonwani selected Nisha Kosle, wife of his son, as Deputy Collector and his brother’s daughter-in-law, Deepa Adil, was selected as District Excise Officer (sic),” the EOW submitted to the Governor’s office.
“Along with this, while holding the post of CGPSC secretary, Jeevan Kishore Dhruv selected and got his son Sumit Dhruv appointed to the post of Deputy Collector. It was not found that among all the candidates selected from 01 to 171 of the PSC, eligible persons were not selected. While Sonwani was holding the post of Chairman, in the Assistant Professor examination, 36 candidates out of 50 candidates were selected as Assistant Professor at the same exam centre, which also includes one of his relatives.”
Rules mandate that if the kin of any official working on the post of chairman, secretary or other posts of the PSC is a candidate in that examination/interview, then that public servant should abstain from the selection process, it said.
“Thus, by Taman Singh Sonwani being appointed as the CGPSC chairman, Jeevan Kishore Dhruv as the commission secretary and other public servants posted in CGPSC hatched criminal conspiracy with other political persons and other government servants and selected their sons, daughters and relatives for government posts in place of many eligible candidates.”
The second FIR — which formed the base of the CBI’s case — was filed by a candidate who alleged that he noticed irregularities after scanning the entire list of 171 candidates qualified for the government jobs through the CGPSC exam.
In his complaint to the police, the candidate, Bhavesh Kumar, listed 15 deputy collectors qualified who were directly linked to either senior Congress leaders, state bureaucrats or business persons with influence.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
its nothing new by congress.. if bjp can make tv actress as a minister, if someone without knowing abc of defence or finance can be made finance and defence ministers, then everything is OK… all parties have the same, favoritism and nepotism… amit shah’s sone never played cricket, but today he’s sitting on bcci’s chair post!! In a country where if SCs STs have to only appear for an exam to get qualified into a course or job, what else is expected? surely there will be some fraud winners and genuine losers..