New Delhi: Ajita Bhattacharya, a former member of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and wife of senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Supriyo Bhattacharya, has been named in testimonies by at least two key accused in the case involving irregularities in this year’s JPSC examination.
The two include Bhattacharya’s personal assistant, Braj Kumar Ram, who allegedly approached her to have a candidate’s score increased by 80 marks, enabling the candidate to qualify for the post of deputy superintendent of police, the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told a Ranchi court. The court was hearing Ram’s bail application which it rejected on Tuesday. He was arrested by the CID last month.
The CID said Ram was allegedly collecting Rs 5-8 lakh per candidate from the examination racket on Bhattacharya’s behalf. For instance, the agency told the court that Ram collected Rs 5 lakh from candidate Manish Kumar to increase his score by 80 marks.
ThePrint contacted Supriyo Bhattacharya over the phone for his response to the allegations, but he declined to comment.
Ajita Bhattacharya was appointed a JPSC member in 2021 but resigned last month after the CID summoned her and two other members amid allegations that the Jharkhand government was covering up organised corruption in the commission. Two other members, Anima Hansda and Jamal Ahmad, also resigned, while chairman L Khiangte was arrested by the CID as part of the probe.
The CID also told the court that Abhay Kumar Tiwari, the alleged mastermind of the JPSC scam, confessed to influencing the selection of at least five candidates during the interview process. Tiwari allegedly told investigators that he had contacted JPSC members, including Bhattacharya and Khiangte, to facilitate the selections.
Noting the CID’s submission, Judge Yogesh Kumar said, “Abhay Kumar Tiwari, in his confessional statement dated 26.07.2026, stated that during the interview process for the 11th–13th JPSC Examination, by contacting Jamal Ahmad, Bhattacharya Madam, Hansda Madam, and the JPSC Chairman, he arranged the seating of candidates, including Dy. SP Robin Kumar, Shailesh Sinha, Manish Kumar, Deputy Jailor Rajesh Kumar Rajak and PH candidate Gautam Kumar Ravi, after taking Rs 15 lakh per candidate.”
The CID also alleged that all the accused in the case, including Tiwari, Rambeer Singh and Arun Kumar, managing director of the two firms that conducted the examination, TDPL and BINSYS, respectively, revealed Ram’s role in securing the BINSYS contract from the JPSC despite the firm having been blacklisted previously.
ThePrint had earlier reported that TDPL was awarded a work contract despite being blacklisted by another examination-conducting body, with a similar process allegedly followed in awarding the BINSYS contract.
According to the CID’s probe, Ram travelled to Aizawl with BINSYS MD Arun Kumar to meet Khiangte and, after failing to meet the 1988-batch IAS officer, allegedly handed Rs 2.5 lakh in cash to his wife.
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)
Also Read: India’s paper leak laws have a long history. So do tardy probes & indifferent prosecution