PSI recruitment scam: Up to CID to preserve police's honour, says Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court stated that corruption in the appointment of sub-inspectors was a grave matter while noting that an extensive probe was required in the scandal.

Bengaluru (Karnataka): The Karnataka High Court on Thursday said that it is in the hands of the state Police Department to preserve its honour in connection with the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scandal. Noting that there are many allegations regarding the PSI recruitment and police officers and middlemen are accused, the court also noted that a comprehensive investigation is required regarding the scandal.

A single judge bench of Justice H.P. Sandesh directed the DGP, CID P.S. Sandhu to personally monitor the investigations as it heard the bail petitions of the accused. "Corruption with regards to the appointment of Sub-Inspectors is a serious matter. The truth must come out. The court will also monitor the progress of the investigation. The action should be initiated against the accused, irrespective of whether they are ministers or officers," the court noted.

It also directed Sandhu to submit a progress report regarding the investigation on July 7. The Karnataka government had announced re-exams for 545 PSI posts following the scandal. The exams were held for these posts on October 3, 2021. The government has also ordered comprehensive analysis of answer sheets of all candidates.

As many as 54,041 candidates appeared for exams. The results were announced this January. Later, the allegations surfaced that candidates who gave very poor performance in descriptive writing got maximum marks in Paper 2. However, the Police Department and the Home Minister denied any irregularities in the exams.

One of the candidates filed an RTI application seeking information on OMR sheets of one of the candidates. Though the application was rejected, the OMR sheet of the candidate appeared in public domain. Police sources say that Veeresh, the candidate, had attended only 21 questions in paper 2 but got 100 marks. He was given the 7th rank.

Congress MLA Priyank Kharge had alleged that more than 300 of the 545 candidates had paid Rs 70 to 80 lakh bribes to officials and ministers to become PSIs. The ruling BJP has challenged him to produce evidence before the CID. (IANS)