PSI Scam: Former ADGP Amrit Paul Arrested in Recruitment Scam Case

Paul was heading the Karnataka police recruitment cell when the PSI recruitment scam broke out.

(Photo: File Photo)

Officials from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Amrit Paul in Bengaluru on Monday, 4 July in connection with the police sub-inspectors (PSI) recruitment scam.

Amrit Paul was heading the Karnataka police recruitment cell when the PSI scam broke out and the OMR sheets were allegedly tampered with in the office, The Hindu reported. He was being questioned by the CID for the last four days, a report from The Times of India stated.

Paul had been under the scanner following the recruitment scam which saw 30 candidates secure top ranks after engaging in malpractices, including tampering with the answer scripts after they colluded with middlemen and police officers who handled the recruitment process.

Earlier, DSP Shanthkumar and other personnel involved in the scam had been arrested. According to The Hindu, the government replaced Paul with Kamal Pant while probing his role in the scam. In the meantime, Paul was transferred to the Internal Security Division.

The CID probe earlier revealed that the malpractice occurred in Jnyan Jyothi English Medium School. The school was run by Divya Hagaragi, former president of the women's wing in BJP's Kalaburagi unit, and her husband Rajesh Hagaragi.

The Times of India quoted state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, who spoke on Paul’s arrest and said: “He was the supreme authority in the recruitment scam. In fact, OMR sheets were tampered with in his office. The investigation is on.”

As per the investigation, the school lacked amenities that an exam centre should have, and the CCTV cameras there were dysfunctional.

What Was the PSI Scam?

The PSI recruitment exam was held in October 2021 for the appointment of 545 Police Sub-Inspectors (PSI). This was attended by 54,041 candidates across 93 centres in Karnataka. While the results were announced in January 2022, a few students raised objections citing irregularities in the awarding of marks.

A week after the matter reached the Karnataka Legislative Assembly , an OMR (Optical Mark Reading) answer sheet of one Veeresh got leaked. As per the initial investigation, it was revealed that Veeresh had attended only 21 questions out of 130, but secured seventh rank in the examination. It was believed that Veeresh paid off someone to get his rank altered.

A series of probes, surrounding this incident, has unearthed the police recruitment scam, popularly called the PSI scam.

(With inputs from The Times of India and The Hindu.)