Ranchi: A special court in Ranchi on Tuesday cleared the way for the trial of 12 accused, including former JPSC Chairman L. Khiangte and former Deputy Examination Controller Shweta Kumari Gupta, in a high profile Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) exam scam.
The court took cognisance of a 97-page charge sheet filed by the CID after the state government granted the prosecution sanction to go ahead.
The next hearing has been fixed on November 10.
The other accused include Ramveer Singh, Director of private examination agency TDPL; its Marketing Manager and alleged mastermind Abhay Kumar Tiwari; agency employees Mohammed Usman and Mohammed Ebad; and Hemant Kumar Verma, Pradeep Kumar Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Suman Saurabh and Arvind Kumar.
All 12 accused were arrested in July and August this year and remain in judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected.
They were produced before the special court through video conferencing from Birsa Munda Central Jail in Hotwar on Tuesday.
According to the charge sheet and case diary submitted before the court, the CID has uncovered what it describes as a well-organised examination racket.
Based on digital evidence, forensic reports and call detail records, investigators have alleged that candidates were charged around Rs 5 lakh for clearing the preliminary examination, while guarantees of final selection fetched between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 25 lakh.
The probe further alleges that former JPSC Chairman L. Khiangte used the serial numbers of Rs 10 currency notes as a code for financial transactions linked to the scam.
Investigators have also claimed that contracts were awarded to blacklisted companies without tendering in return for Rs 2 crore in cash and a 10 per cent commission on total billings.
Evidence collected during the investigation reportedly includes travel records and mobile-location data indicating delivery of Rs 2.5 lakh in cash to Khiangte's residence in Aizawl, Mizoram.
CID investigators said searches conducted at the former chairman's office and among his personal belongings led to the recovery of a confidential list of 15 successful candidates and eight original admit cards of Forest Range Officer main examination candidates. Ten of those candidates were allegedly selected later.
One of the most significant findings cited in the charge sheet concerns the alleged leakage of confidential examination data.
Investigators claim that before the official declaration of the results of the 14th JPSC preliminary examination, former Deputy Examination Controller Shweta Kumari Gupta shared sensitive information and the complete database of selected candidates with TDPL employee Mohammed Usman via WhatsApp.
Technical analysis of chat records allegedly revealed that data relating to 267 selected candidates had been shared in advance. Of these, 146 candidates were from Bihar, 82 from Uttar Pradesh and 14 from Haryana.
Information related to main examination questions, answers, and category-wise cut-off marks was also allegedly leaked before official publication.
The charge sheet further states that alleged mastermind Abhay Kumar Tiwari had leased an entire hotel near Ranchi railway station for 11 months. The premises were allegedly used as a secret operational hub where ineligible candidates were accommodated, and arrangements were made for manipulating OMR sheets.
Investigators said recovery of unsealed original OMR sheets and their videography from the strong room pointed to deliberate weakening of security protocols.
The CID has also alleged that shortly before his arrest, Khiangte attempted to destroy digital evidence by formatting his mobile phone and damaging his laptop. These allegations form part of the evidence cited in the charge sheet now before the court.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.