K’taka CM assures thorough investigation in PSI recruitment scam

In the conversation, Kharge said, the middleman is heard saying that no one will be caught since “everyone is involved.”

Bengaluru:

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai (PTI)

Congress legislator and former minister Priyank Kharge on Saturday released an audio clip related to the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam, which purportedly carries a conversation between a selected candidate and a middleman.

Responding to the allegations, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai promised a thorough probe into the audio recording.

Speaking to media persons near his residence, the chief minister said that all the aspects and angles in the PSI scam will be probed and whoever is involved will be severely punished as per law based on the investigation.

“I have personally not heard the audio clipping released by Congress MLA Priyank Kharge. But I assure you that all aspects will be probed. The persons involved in the audiotape will be identified,’’ Bommai said.

Kharge told a press conference that there are allegations that the senior officers will protect the accused as heard in the audio clip.

The Congress has asked the government to either transfer additional director general of police (recruitment) Amrut Paul or send him on leave till the completion of the ongoing inquiry by CID sleuths into the scam.

In the conversation, Kharge said, the middleman is heard saying that no one will be caught since “everyone is involved.”

In the audio clip played by the Congress leader, the alleged middleman could be heard asking the candidate to send his application number so that he could be allotted to one of the centres where malpractice could be possible. He is also heard saying that everything has been settled and that there is no need for any apprehension about selection.

HT could not independently verify the audio clip.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) registered a case on April 9 after it was discovered that marks were forged by a few aspirants in the common entrance test (CET) conducted for the recruitment of the 545 police sub-inspectors (PSIs).

One of the candidates who appeared for the examination at Hagrangi’s school had answered only 21 questions on his OMR sheet leaving others blank. He, however, scored 100 marks and secured the seventh position. The candidate told police during a preliminary inquiry that he had paid ₹36 lakh to forge his OMR sheet, which led to an investigation into the scam.

The arrests that followed were a setback for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition Congress in Karnataka, as the CID probe revealed the involvement of leaders of both the parties in the scam.

On Tuesday, CID had booked Divya Hagaragi, a former president of the BJP’s women’s unit in Kalaburagi district, in connection with the case. According to CID officials, it was found during the investigation that malpractice took place at Jnana Jyothi English Medium School, which was run by the BJP leader. The school was one of the centres where the PSI recruitment examination was held in October 2021.

On Friday, CID arrested Afzalpur block Congress president Mahantesh D Patil in connection with the PSI recruitment scam.

Patil was allegedly part of the gang that rigged the evaluation process in which candidates offering a bribe in the range of ₹70-80 lakh were given more marks.

He was also an associate of Divya Hagaragi.

The Karnataka unit of the Congress also demanded the resignation of the home minister. “We also demand the resignation of home minister Araga Jnanedra on moral grounds,” Kharge said during the press conference.

He also alleged that the government was trying to protect its party workers. “When Divya Hagaragi has applied for anticipatory bail, it is a common understanding that the government knows her whereabouts… The government should tell the people that on whose recommendations Jnana Ganga institution was selected as the CET centre,” he said.

When asked about the arrest of Afzalpur block Congress president, Kharge said that he would not defend anybody.