Karnataka government has initiated a judicial probe into the recruitment scam involving the illegal appointment of 545 Police Sub-Inspectors (PSI). A one-man judicial commission, headed by former Justice B Veerappa, has been established, and a report is expected to be submitted within three months.
Justice Veerappa, who retired on May 31, previously led a bench that revoked the powers of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and reinstated the authority of the Lokayukta. The Home Department has instructed Justice Veerappa to conclude the investigation and present the findings to the government within the specified timeframe.
The recruitment scam became a significant point of contention during the Assembly polls, with the Congress party relentlessly targeting the BJP government over alleged irregularities and corruption. Prompted by allegations of manipulated exam results, the BJP government ordered a CID investigation last year.
Following the announcement of the results, further accusations emerged, implicating cheating and corrupt practices during the examination. Consequently, the Karnataka government ordered an inquiry into the matter. The Karnataka Police Recruitment Cell conducted the examination to fill 545 vacancies of Police Sub-Inspectors (PSI) in the Karnataka Police Department in 2021.
Subsequent to this, multiple FIRs were filed against candidates, middlemen, and police officials involved in the observed irregularities surrounding the PSI Recruitment Examination in Bangalore and Kalaburagi. The cases were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.
CID, Bengaluru conducted searches at various locations and made around 100 arrests, including the arrest of IPS officer Amrit Paul, in connection with the case. During the CID investigation, it was discovered that the OMR sheets in the strong room of the Recruitment Cell at CID headquarters Carlton House, Bangalore had been tampered with. Furthermore, police officers in charge of the strong room deactivated the CCTV camera, allowing two armed head constables to enter and tamper with the OMR sheets. Additionally, police officials allegedly accepted money from candidates in exchange for facilitating their selection through illegal means.
Based on the filed FIRs, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) for alleged money laundering on August 4. To date, 110 individuals, including 52 candidates who took the exam, have been arrested in connection with the scam. These 52 candidates have been disqualified from participating in any future police recruitment activities.
