CBI chargesheets 88 in 2022 HP police constable recruitment exam paper leak

In the chargesheets filed before a special CBI court in Shimla, the agency alleged that two Bihar residents, Bharat Kumar Yadav of Lakhisarai and Arvind of Nawada, stole the question papers and sold to aspirants for ₹3 to 5 lakh

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed two chargesheets against 88 individuals in connection with the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Exam paper leak case, officials said.

The CBI has forwarded the names of these private coaching institutes to National Testing Agency (NTA) for suitable action as their role also came on record during investigation, an agency spokesperson said in a statement. (HT File)

In the chargesheets filed before a special CBI court in Shimla, the agency alleged that two Bihar residents, Bharat Kumar Yadav of Lakhisarai and Arvind of Nawada, stole the question papers and sold to aspirants for ₹3 to 5 lakh through middlemen at Mandi, Kangra, Chandigarh, Panchkula, Zirakpur, Mohali and other places.It alleged that multiple organised gangs in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Haryana were allegedly part of the conspiracy as were several individuals running coaching institutes in Nalanda (Bihar), Kangra (HP), Rohtak (Haryana), Delhi and Jammu.

The agency has chargesheeted Ranjit Kumar, who runs Pascal Coaching centre in Nalanda; Bijender Singh, who runs Thakur Kashiram Web Solution in Kangra; Anil Bhaskar, who runs Bhaskar Academy in Rohtak; Chinranjiv Chintan, who runs Zero Plus Consultant Service in Delhi; Sunil Kumar, who runs Commando Defence Academy, Kangra; and Raj Kumar, who runs Computer Lab for Online Examination in Jammu, the officials said.

The CBI has forwarded the names of these private coaching institutes to National Testing Agency (NTA) for suitable action as their role also came on record during investigation, an agency spokesperson said in a statement.

The central agency has chargesheeted several former and serving government officials belonging to the Railways, Himachal Pradesh Education Department, the state’s electricity board, Chandigarh Police, Delhi Government, former servicemen and Defence Accounts and Audit. It has alleged their role in the conspiracy.

The state government had then handed over two cases for investigating allegations of leakage and irregularities in the HP Police Constable Recruitment Exam held on March 27, 2022.

He said the agency has also recommended departmental action against then police officials of Himachal Pradesh for alleged lapses and negligence on their part which came on record during investigation.

Around 75,803 candidates appeared in the written exam for the recruitment of constables in the police department on March 27, last year the result of which was declared on April 5. As many as 1, 87,476 applications were received for 1334 posts of constable. At least 75,803 candidates qualified for the physical efficiency test and physical standards test out of which 26,346 candidates cleared the written examination held at 81 centres across 11 districts.