Chhattisgarh PSC Recruitment Scam: CBI arrests five, including former IAS officer and relatives, over exam man

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested five persons, including a former IAS official, in connection with alleged irregularities in the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission recruitment examination held during the previous Congress government, officials said on Friday.

Jeevan Kishore Dhruv, former IAS officer and then secretary of CGPSC, his son and deputy collector Sumit Dhruv, Arti Wasnik, then Controller of Examinations, Misha Kosle, a deputy collector and daughter-in-law of the then CGPSC chairman's brother, and Deepa Adil, a District Excise Officer and also related to the then chairman's family, were arrested on Thursday, a CBI statement said.

The five were produced in a court in Raipur during the day, the statement said. Twelve persons have been arrested for far in the case, which involves allegations of manipulation of results and favouritism in the selection of candidates for key administrative posts. On July 9 last year, the CBI took over investigation into the two cases lodged in Chhattisgarh on charges of favouritism in selection for the post of deputy collectors, deputy superintendent of police and other senior government posts through CGPSC during the 2020-2022 exam.

As per the FIR, the then chairman, secretary and other CGPSC officials, while overseeing the recruitment processes between 2020 and 2022, facilitated the selection of their own children and relatives by influencing examinations and interviews, the release said. "In the 2021 recruitment cycle alone, 1,29,206 candidates appeared in the preliminary exam, of whom 2,548 got cleared for the mains. Out of these, 509 advanced to interviews, and 170 were finally appointed to various posts.

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Previous arrests in CGPSC recruitment case

Several of those ultimately selected were linked to serving officials of the Commission," it said. Among those held earlier are then CGPSC chairman Taman Singh Sonwani, his nephews Nitesh Sonwani and Sahil Sonwani, then Deputy Controller of Examinations (CGPSC) Lalit Ganvir, Director of Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd Shravan Kumar Goyal, his son Shashank Goyal and daughter-in-law Bhumika Katiyar, it said. Shashank Goyal, his wife Bhumika Katiyar and Nitesh were then selected as deputy collectors, while Sahil was selected as deputy superintendent of police (DSP), it said, adding all are currently in judicial custody.

"The CBI had filed a chargesheet in a special court in Raipur on January 16 this year naming the seven as accused. The chargesheet had stated Taman Singh Sonwani allegedly misused his official position and provided question papers to Nitesh and Sahil before exams," it said. Further, Taman Singh Sonwani and Lalit Ganvir, then Deputyy Exam Controller, for Rs 45 lakh, provided question papers to Shravan Kumar Goyal, whole Time Director of Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd, for passing them on to his son Shashank and daughter-in-law Bhumika, the CBI statement said.