Patna,(Bihar): Sudhir Kumar, the chairman of Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) was not the only one to be arrested late on Thursday night.
Five of his relatives too were arrested.
Though IAS Officers’ Association claimed that he was arrested late on Thursday night from in front of his parents in Hazaribagh, according to Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj, who is heading the special investigation team (SIT) probing the leak, Sudhir, his brother Awadhesh, who is a Geography teacher at Patna Women’s College, sister-in-law Manju Devi, his nephews Ashish and Arun and another relative Rajan were arrested from the state capital early on Friday morning.
Police alleged that Sudhir leaked the question papers to help his relatives––Manju, Ashish, Arun, Rajan and another relative Hari Om who has not yet been arrested––who were taking the clerical grade examination.
However, according to reports from Hazaribagh, Korrah police outpost officer Pankaj Kumar said the SIT team followed Sudhir’s SUV to his home in Matwari Mohalla and arrested him around 11 PMon Thursday.
Sudhir’s father Radhe Mohan Prasad, who retired from the post of joint secretary in 1990 in the then unified Bihar told mediapersons in Hazaribagh that his son was being made a scapegoat and has nothing to do with the leak.
He said Sudhir was at his home in Hazaribagh on leave since February 21 and was supposed to return to work in Patna on Monday. But he cut short his visit and decided to leave last night. He had asked his official car driver to come and fetch him.
This is somewhat different from the version of IAS Officers’ Association and police in Hazaribagh.
On the other hand Manu Maharaaj said police have evidence to establish Sudhir’s role in leaking the question paper. He said the chairman had provided the question paper and the answer key to his brother Awadesh, who in turn provided them to his wife Manju Devi and four other relatives.
Police sources claimed Sudhir’s nephew Ashish had received the question paper and answer key on January 23, and that Ashish had confessed that a relative had given him the question paper and answer keys to him in Hazaribagh.
Ashish, the police sources claimed, had passed on the question paper and answer key to Rameshwar, director of a coaching institute in Beur, who sold them to candidates.
Rakesh Dubey, additional superintendent of police (ASP) and a member of the SIT said candidates had given Rs 6 lakh for the question paper and 50 per cent of the amount was taken by Ashish. He claimed that Sudhir’s role was not confined to providing the question paper and answer key to his relatives, but that the chairman was also in direct contact with the press printing the question paper and subject experts at Delhi who had framed answer keys. This is against the BSSC rules.
Police sources, according to the media report, also claimed the subject experts were in contact with BSSC secretary Parmeshwar Ram, who in turn was in direct touch with several persons such as Niti Pratap Singh (information technology manager at the BSSC), land broker Anand Sharma and Aurangabad district education officer Avinash, who allegedly leaked the question paper through WhatsApp.
