BENGALURU: The former police recruitment chief in Karnataka, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Amrit Paul was on Wednesday and Thursday questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the infamous police sub-inspector recruitment scam in which around 60 people including two police officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), one inspector, other police personnel and 22 candidates, who had cleared the examination have been arrested. Paul was ADGP, Recruitment, when the examinations were held in October last year for the post of 545 PSIs. Over 54,000 candidates had appeared for the examination across Karnataka.
When asked, Paul told The New Indian Express, that the “CID wanted to understand the whole process of police recruitment; from notification to declaration of results. On Wednesday, the Director General of Police, CID had requested me to explain the entire process to the investigating team,” said the ADGP. He added that he had spent a couple of hours on Wednesday evening and Thursday with the CID.
“They may call me again because recruitment is a complex process and they need to understand it properly to take the investigation forward,” said Paul. He was transferred and posted as ADGP, Internal Security Division (ISD) after the scam broke out. The government had annulled the PSI recruitment following which some successful candidates went to court to seek legal recourse.
Rs 30-80L sought from candidates
The CID had registered a case on the directions of the Home Minister Araga Jnanendra after some unsuccessful candidates alleged large-scale rigging of the exams. A candidate, who had answered only 12 questions worth 31.5 marks had obtained 120 out of 150 marks. According to sources, money ranging between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 80 lakh was reportedly demanded from the candidates. Kalaburagi was the epicentre of the scam after most of the rankers have emerged from one examination centre run by a former local BJP leader Divya Hagaragi.