Preliminary investigations into the CRPF recruitment scandal in Bihar and Jharkhand,which has so far led to the arrest of nine persons including IG Pushkar Singh,have revealed that sums ranging from Rs 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh were collected from each candidate by touts and part of the money went to senior CRPF officers. The CBI estimates that touts and officers involved in the racket collected over Rs 225 crore. Top CBI sources have told The Indian Express it appeared that hardly any of these appointments in Bihar and Jharkhand were not tainted. Between 2007 and 2009,over 700 constables were recruited to the CRPF from these two states and the CBI,in papers submitted to a Patna court,has said the scam was deeply entrenched and was being carried out in connivance with senior CRPF officers. It also emerged that IG Pushkar Singh had been found indulging in similar corrupt practices two years ago but could not be punished for lack of substantive evidence. Sources told The Indian Express that in the absence of clinching proof at that time,Singh had been able to escape punitive action. But adverse remarks were entered by his superiors in his annual confidential report,the career appraisal of a government employee. He had been under watch ever since as a number of complaints had been received. Singh,who hails from Aligarh,was the seniormost IG in the force and was due to retire at the end of June. Sources said this time the evidence against him seemed to be quite strong as the CBI had recovered cash and documents from him. He is likely to be suspended by tomorrow. A senior CRPF official admitted that malpractices in the recruitment process had become quite widespread and deep-rooted in the last few years and described the latest crackdown as corrective surgery that was desperately needed to cleanse the force of corrupt elements. CBI sources said that once recruitment was announced and hopefuls filled the firms,touts would note down their home address and make contact,promising appointments for a price to be shared among touts,CRPF commandants,DIGs and IG. Touts,allotted beat areas like policemen,would approach commandants already in the loop who would then relay bulk information on the deal to DIGs. CBI sources said that Singh would know every little detail about the deal. Once the wholesale deal was finalised,favourable question papers were set and leaked to candidates via beat touts, said CBI sources. It is alleged that Singh would ensure favoured candidates appeared before weak and motivated boards. Though candidates had to match standard physical yardsticks like desired height,chest width and absence of flat feet,some leniency was given to favoured candidates to take them through, the sources said. The scandal came to light after some candidates,who were unable to pay the demanded sums,were threatened with disqualification or not given job assurances. The CBI sources declined to name the whistle blowers,pointing out that they could be made approvers in the case. Intensifying its drive,the CBI has now pasted pamphlets at prominent places in cities,seeking alerts on listed mobile numbers. Sources said that the touts had been intimidating candidates until recently. The CBI has so far arrested nine persons IG Singh,alleged mastermind Mukesh and his wife Swati Bhardwaj,Tripurari Kumar alias Bablu,Siddhnath Sharma from Kankerbagh (Patna),132 Bn commandant (Delhi) Jadvinder Singh,134 Bn commandant T M Baxla (Daltonganj,Jharkhand),CRPF Muzaffarpur DIG B S Sidhu and civilian Pankaj Kumar. They were produced in a Patna court today. The CBI hopes to make two more arrests by tomorrow. IG Singh and Mukesh are being questioned. Teams from the CBI have so far raided 20 places and also seized documents on properties worth crores. Though the scandal has been detected in Jharkhand and Bihar,efforts are on to identify other persons in UP,Delhi and Haryana. The matter was handed over to the CBI after the Union Home Ministry noticed discrepancies in recruitment of constables in Bihar,Jharkhand,UP,Haryana and Punjab.
