Thursday, January 30, 2020

TNPSC scam: Cop whose four kin topped Group-II under lens

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:30.01.2020

The group of agents and others involved in the 2019 TNPSC Group IV exam scam, in which special ink was used to erase answers before new answers were included later, were also involved in a scam in the recruitment of Group-II officers in 2017, police have found.

Aspecial team stumbled upon the racket after some of the arrested told them how four members of the family of a policeman including his wife and brother got into Group-II service, ranked among the top 10. At least 14 people including some government employees have so far been arrested in connection with the scam in the exam held in September 2019. Armed with information about this startling disclosure, the investigation team has now written to the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), asking it to initiate inquiries into the earlier scam.

If the TNPSC finds further material, including the modus operandi, a separate complaint could be filed for a parallel investigation, police said. Investigators are also ascertaining the identity of the policeman, who is a native of Sivaganga district and is believed to be attached to a city police station, as well as those who got into government service by resorting to fraudulent means.

Collected ₹5L-₹10L from candidates, say arrested agents

Inquiries revealed that at least 37 people who appeared for the Group-II examination from the Rameswaram and Keelakarai centres in Ramanathapuram district, ranked among the top

100. All these people later got jobs in municipalities across the state, employment exchanges, social welfare department, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) Board and various other departments.

The arrested agents have disclosed that they collected sums ranging from ₹5lakh to ₹10lakh from the candidates to chase their answer sheets in the earlier exam. An investigation officer said, “As per the confession of the arrested mediators, it appears that the policeman hailing from Sivaganga district played a key role in the recruitment scam.”

Sources said that another of the policeman’s brothers managed to get on to the list of candidates selected after Group-IV examination held in 2019, but no other details were available.

Late last week, after the scam in the September 2019 Group IV exam broke and the TNPSC banned 99 people for life, the CB-CID took over investigation. It has made several arrests and is hunting for many others thought to be involved. The fraud came to light after 32 of the 99 candidates, who appeared from just two centres in Ramanathapuram district ranked in the top 100. It was later discovered that the answer sheets of 52 of the 99 candidates had been manipulated

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