PSI recruitment scandal: Karnataka ADGP Amrit Paul arrested by CID

Bengaluru, July 4 (IANS) Karnataka Police's CID, which is probing the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scandal, on Monday arrested ADGP Amrit Paul.

The arrest - the first of an ADGP rank officer in the state - has created ripples in political circles, and sources say that many skeletons are likely to tumble out of the cupboard in connection with the scandal.

Paul, who had appeared before the CID for the fifth time, was arrested after his involvement was found in the scandal. The police have taken him to the Bowring Hospital for a medical test and will present him before a court where they will seek his custody for further investigation.

CID sources says the senior officer is facing charges of allowing fabrication of answer sheets at his office, finalising examination centres to help accused commit the scam, and allowing seating arrangements that helped candidates use Bluetooth and other devices during exams.

It was alleged that Paul had taken Rs 30 lakh for 25 posts. CID sleuths had gathered all technical evidence in this regard and the arrested police officers had revealed his collusion in the scandal.

Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has stated that CID sleuths have been given a free hand to probe the matter and not to spare any bureaucrat or any powerful individual.

Reacting to the arrest, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that this is a very good development and action must be initiated to arrest the rest of the accused.

The CID investigation into the PSI recruitment scandal exposed the nexus between politicians and the state police, leaving the latter in an embarrassing situation.

Meanwhile, leaders from both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress have been arrested by the CID causing major embarrassment to both the parties. The CID officers are now focusing on the kingpins behind the scandal.

The Karnataka government had announced re-exams for 545 PSI posts following a scandal and these was held on October 3, 2021. It had also ordered comprehensive analysis of answer sheets of all candidates.

As many as 54,041 candidates appeared for exams. The results were announced this January.

Later, the allegations surfaced that candidates who gave very poor performance in descriptive writing got maximum marks in Paper 2. However, the Police Department and the Home Minister had denied any irregularities.

One of the candidates filed an RTI application seeking information on OMR sheets of one of the candidates. Though the application was rejected, the OMR sheet of the candidate appeared in public domain. Police sources say that Veeresh, the candidate, had attended only 21 questions in paper 2 but got 100 marks, and the 7th rank.

Congress MLA Priyank Kharge had alleged that more than 300 of the 545 candidates had paid Rs 70 to 80 lakh bribe to officials and ministers to become PSIs. The BJP had challenged him to produce evidence before the CID.