The Chhattisgarh government has canceled the recruitment process of police constables in Rajnandgaon district amid allegations of irregularities and constituted an SIT to probe it, an official said.
Deputy Chief Minister of the state Vijay Sharma, who is holding the Ministry of Home Affairs, gave this order on Wednesday afternoon.
“Irregularities in the ongoing recruitment process in Rajnandgaon’s 8th battalion came to light and a case was registered in this regard at Lal Bagh police station on December 17,” the official said.
He said that the candidates from Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh-Chuikhadan-Gandai, Kabirdham (Kawardha) and Mohala-Manpur-Ambagarh choki districts have been participating in the admission process since November 16.
The police have so far arrested seven people including four police constables, two employees of an event management company and a female candidate for irregularities in the recruitment process, the official said.
It was alleged that police constable Anil Ratnakar committed suicide during the investigation of the incident. A letter written with a pen was found on his left palm, in which it was mentioned that he was being targeted for irregularities in the recruitment of employees and that the officer was being given security.
Rajnandgaon (Range) Inspector General of Police Deepak Jhalai has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate Ratnakar’s suicide and asked for a report within 10 days, he said.
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg has handed over the investigation of alleged irregularities in the recruitment process to Rajnandgaon City Superintendent of Police Pushpendra Nayak, the official said.
Garg said on Wednesday that no order has been received from the state government to cancel the recruitment process of District Police Force Constable Cadre Selection Examination 2023-24.
Former Chief Minister and Assembly Speaker Raman Singh has welcomed the decision to cancel the recruitment process of the state government.
“Today, on the occasion of Good Governance Day, under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Mr. @vishnudsai, Home Minister Mr. @vijaysharmacg took immediate cognizance of the Rajnandgaon police recruitment case and took a commendable decision to cancel the entire recruitment.” Singh said in Ex.
He said that the Chief Minister has directed to constitute an SIT for an impartial investigation of the entire matter.
‘No kind of negligence and corruption will be tolerated in this government of good governance,’ said Singh.
During the recruitment process, marks obtained by many candidates in the physical efficiency process were tampered with, an official said.
“This irregularity was uncovered during an investigation by an internal team of the Rajnandgaon police, after which an FIR was registered at Lalbagh police station in the city,” he said.
After that, during the recruitment process, the body of police constable Anil Ratnakar working on martial duty was found hanging in Rampur village on 21st January.
Ratnakar wrote a handwritten note to the staff during the recruitment process saying that the officers on duty had trapped them, the official said.
The opposition Congress has attacked the state BJP government led by CM Vishnu Dev Sai over the issue of irregularities in the recruitment process.
State Congress President Deepak Baij and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have demanded that the recruitment process be canceled and the guilty be prosecuted.
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