J&K Police SI recruitment scam: CBI files charge sheet against 24

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: The CBI on Saturday filed a charge sheet against 24 people, including a former BSF commandant, for allegedly leaking the question paper of police sub-inspector recruitment examination conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board, officials said.
In its charge sheet filed before a special court in Jammu, the Central Bureau of Investigation said Yatin Yadav of Rewari, the mastermind, had accessed the question paper through Pradip Kumar Katiyar, an employee of a printing press based in Delhi’s Okhla.
Yadav used a network of middlemen and officials of 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, the officials said.
Through the exam, 1,200 posts in the Jammu and Kashmir Police were to be filled up.
Those charge-sheeted include Yadav, Katiyar and former Border Security Force (BSF) commandant Karnail Singh. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and BSF personnel and middlemen, most of them in judicial and police custody, are also among those charge-sheeted.
The CBI registered a case in the matter on August 3 this year on a reference from the Jammu and Kashmir administration to investigate the allegations of irregularities in the written examination conducted by the services selection board on March 27 for the recruitment of police sub-inspectors.
The results announced on June 4 were marred by allegations of irregularities.
After taking over the case, the CBI conducted searches at 77 locations in multiple states and union territories including Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir.
The agency analysed voluminous technical data and examined a large number of witnesses.
During the probe, the CBI arrested 20 people including mastermind Yadav and former BSF commandant Singh.
The agency recovered Rs 61.79 lakh cash during multiple rounds of searches.
Yadav contacted other accused persons including BSF, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel to arrange candidates for the sale of the question paper, the CBI said in a statement.
”In furtherance to conspiracy, candidates were taken to Karnal and provided the leaked question paper in lieu of money. A few accused from J&K made arrangements for providing the leaked question paper to the candidates at Gangyal (in Jammu).
”It was further alleged that the accused distributed the leaked question paper at the residence of a doctor (Karnail Singh). It was also alleged that some candidates actively participated in the said conspiracy,” the statement said. (Agencies)