Congress demands court-monitored probe into PSI recruitment exam scam in Karnataka

KPCC spokesperson Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil warned that Congress workers would gherao Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Kalaburagi if BJP leader Divya Hagaragi, main accused in the case, is not arrested

Following the April 17 raids by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Gyan Jyoti English Medium School and the residence of BJP leader Divya Hagaragi, who ran the school, in Kalaburagi in connection with alleged malpractice in the recently concluded recruitment examination for the appointment of 545 Police Sub-Inspectors, Congress demanded a thorough investigation under the supervision of a sitting judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court.

Addressing a media conference in the local party office on April 19, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson and former Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said that his party does not have faith in the State police as the examination was conducted by the police department and the accused, Ms. Hagaragi, is a leader of the ruling BJP.

“Ms. Hagaragi, who is in control of the examination centre where exam malpractice was reported, is a BJP leader. She held some party post earlier. She has very close connections with high-profile ministers in the State Government. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had, during his recent visit to Kalaburagi, paid a visit to her house for breakfast, and the photo taken on the occasion is making the rounds on social media. She appears to have obtained a PSI-recruitment examination centre for her school by making use of her high-level connections in the government. She is yet to be arrested as she is protected by top BJP leaders. Moreover, the examination was conducted by the police department, and everyone in the examination wing will have to be questioned. I don’t think CID would investigate the case impartially, as the accused belongs to the ruling party. It would also be a conflict of interest if CID investigates the case in which people in the police department are involved,” Mr Patil said.

He warned that Congress workers would gherao the Chief Minister during his imminent visit to Kalaburagi if Ms. Hagaragi is not arrested.

Training his guns at Home Minister Araga Jnanendra for his repeated dismissal of irregularities and malpractice in the appointment of PSIs on the floor of the State legislature, Mr. Patil demanded his resignation for ‘misleading the floor’. He also demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the ground that the latter was the Home Minister when the examination centre was allotted to Ms. Hagaragi’s school.

He questioned the relevance of the police department conducting the recruitment examination when there were two competent authorities meant for the purpose – the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).

“Police department conducted the examination even though it did not have either the expertise in the task or the required infrastructure. Committing exam malpractice to favour certain candidates might be the motive behind the decision,” Mr Patil alleged demanding an end to the practice of individual departments conducting recruitment examinations to fill vacancies and assign the task to competent authorities, like KPSC and KEA.