CBI raids Ex-PSC officials' premises in Chhattisgarh recruitment scam

RAIPUR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting extensive searches at the residences and official premises of the former Chairman, Secretary, and Controller of Examinations of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) in Raipur and Bhilai as part of the ongoing investigation into allegations of abuse of official positions in recruitment of state administrative, police service and other positions. A CBI press release said the case involves the then CGPSC chairman Taman Singh Sonwani, CGPSC secretary Jeevan Kishore Dhurv, the then controller of examinations and others, who allegedly exploited their positions to secure government jobs for their sons, daughters, relatives and acquaintances. The central agency said it had registered a case following a request from the Chhattisgarh government to take over the investigation into the cases previously recorded at Police Stations EOW/ACB, Raipur (Crime No. 05/2024), and Arjunda, Balod District (Crime No. 28/2024). It has been alleged that son of then PSC chairman was allegedly selected as deputy collector, his elder brother’s son as Deputy superintendent of police and his sister’s daughter as labour officer, wife of his son as deputy collector and his brother’s daughter-in-law as district excise officer. Besides, there are also allegations that the then PSC secretary got selected his son to the post of deputy collector, the CBI release said. The investigation also targets the selection of other alleged ineligible candidates, including close relatives of senior bureaucrats, other officials and political leaders, who were appointed as Deputy Collectors, Dy. SPs and other government jobs. CBI says its searches are currently focused on gathering evidence from the residential and official premises of the officials to uncover the full extent of the alleged misconduct in the CGPSC recruitment process during the years 2000-2022. The Chhattisgarh PSC recruitment scam erupted during the previous Congress government, headed by then chief minister Bhupesh Baghel after the PSC released its selection list to the post of deputy collectors, deputy superintendent of police, labour inspectors, excise inspectors and other posts based on its written examination and interviews. Suspicion arose as the surnames of some of the candidates were concealed and subsequently, it came to notice that close relatives of senior PSC officials, other senior bureaucrats, kin of politicians and influential businessmen figured in the selection list. The BJP, then in opposition, raised it as an issue during the assembly elections and promised to conduct a CBI inquiry immediately after coming to power in December last year. As promised, the Vishnu Deo Sai government promptly handed over the probe into the PSC scam to the CBI.