The Jharkhand CID has arrested the personal assistant of former JPSC member Ajita Bhattacharya in connection with an alleged recruitment examination irregularities case. The accused, BN Ram, allegedly demanded Rs 40 lakh in exchange for managing interviews conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).
With this arrest, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to 22.
Ajita Bhattacharya questioned by CID
Ajita Bhattacharya, a former JPSC member, had also been questioned extensively by the CID in connection with the investigation. Bhattacharya resigned from her post on August 9 amid controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in JPSC examinations and the ongoing CID probe.
She is the wife of Supriyo Bhattacharya, a prominent Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and the party's central general secretary.
The CID investigation into the alleged irregularities and recruitment-related corruption is continuing.
The Jharkhand CID conducted raids at several locations across the state on Thursday (August 13)while attempting to execute arrest warrants against seven accused in connection with alleged irregularities in various competitive examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).
According to the CID, the wanted accused include Aditya Pandey and Pawan Kumar Singh from Ranchi district; Ravishankar Kumar and Santosh Kumar Singh from Palamu district; Sanand Prakash from Bokaro; Lalu Kumar Yadav from Hazaribagh; and Saurav Kumar Pandey from Giridih. However, no arrests were made during the raids.
Former JPSC chairman arrested
Earlier on August 10, the Jharkhand CID arrested former JPSC Chairman L.Khiangte for his alleged role in JPSC and JSSC job scams. He was questioned by CID multiple times for his alleged involvement in recruitment exam irregularities. The arrest comes amid continuing protests by JPSC-JSSC aspirants in Ranchi, who have been demanding an independent investigation and reforms in the state's recruitment examination system.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and senior Congress MP, urged Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to 'personally' meet the students protesting across the state over irregularities in recruitment examinations, saying the move would help in reinforcing the government's commitment to resolve their remaining concerns.
The Congress is a coalition member of Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance in Jharkhand.
In a letter to Soren, the former Congress president called the youth India's future and said the grand old party stands in solidarity with them, asking the Jharkhand chief minister to hear out the agitators and take appropriate action to ensure that an early solution to their issues is found.
The Congress, Rahul said, believes in peaceful protest and students have a right to do that as enshrined in the Constitution. Therefore, the party has decided to offer its complete support to students protesting over paper leaks and irregularities in the education system over the last few months, he said.
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