RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a money laundering investigation into the high-profile Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) recruitment scam, suspecting corruption and illicit transactions running up to hundreds of crore.
In a significant crackdown, central agency officials took former CGPSC Chairman and retired IAS officer Taman Singh Sonwani into custody after securing a production warrant.
Sonwani was produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur, which granted the ED a custody remand till July 31 for detailed custodial interrogation.
With the ED's entry, the scope of investigation has broadened from administrative exam rigging to tracing money laundering networks, illegal assets, and cash flows across Chhattisgarh.
The financial investigation branch revealed evidence indicating that illegal kickbacks from the recruitment scam were laundered under the guise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) donations and public welfare trusts.
Specifically, investigators uncovered that an amount between Rs 45 lakh and 47 lakh was funnelled as corrupt payments through private entities—including industrial firms—disguised as CSR contributions to a registered trust/society (Gramin Vikas Samiti) managed by Sonwani's close family members.
In exchange, exam papers were allegedly leaked and selection processes rigged to favour influential candidates, high-ranking officers' relatives, and politicians' children.
The case stems from the state civil service examination cycles of 2020 and 2021.
Earlier investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) established that rules were deliberately tweaked and examination answers manipulated to appoint ineligible candidates, including sons, daughters, and nephews of top officials and high-profile persons, to lucrative administrative posts like Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), and District Excise Officer.
The CBI has already filed chargesheets against 29 individuals, including former CGPSC Secretary Jeevan Kishore Dhruv, former Examination Controller Arti Wasnik, and several illegally selected candidates.