Raids to nab SSC culprits
2 min readPatna: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on Thursday carried out raids in Patna, Jehanabad and Purnea in search of two suspects allegedly involved in the leak of question papers of clerical grade examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).
The examinations were conducted online in August 2017 and February 2018 to fill 8,000 posts in different government departments. Around 31 lakh examinees sat for the phase I of the combined graduate-level examination (two tier) and 1.9 lakh students were selected for the phase II test. As news about the question paper leak spread, a number of examinees staged protests across the country.
The SSC later recommended a CBI probe into the incident and decided not to publish the results till the probe was complete. Later a PIL was also filed in the Supreme Court seeking direction for a CBI investigation.
On March 12 this year, the apex court sought a response from the central government on the matter without issuing any notice. The central government informed the court that the CBI was conducting preliminary investigation into the leak of question papers. The PIL was later dismissed.
On May 22, the CBI formally registered an FIR under relevant sections of IPC, IT Act and Prevention of Corruption Act. Searches were conducted in Delhi, Noida, Jaipur, Shimla, Mumbai and Chennai on Thursday. Two of the 17 na-med accused – Pawan Kumar (Purnea) and Shambhu Kumar (Jehanabad) – are residents of Bihar. While Shambhu is a resident of Jaitpur Bazaar under Ghosi police station in Jehanabad district, Pawan is a native of Madhubani Mugi Farm in Purnea.
A source in the CBI said the investigating agency was on the lookout for five other persons of the state who were closely associated with a Noida-based private software company.
Both Pawan and Shambhu’s mobile phones were under the surveillance of the CBI but they managed to escape. “The two accused are absconding,” the source said.
Courtesy: The Telegraph
