The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scam, arrested P. Shantha Kumar, Dy. SP, a key personnel in the police recruitment cell with a track record of 12 years in the cell. His arrest comes close on the heels of the arrest of four other junior personnel posted in the cell when the exams were held and results finalised.
The CID probe has reportedly uncovered that the OMR sheets of many candidates who had paid money were tampered with and correct answers filled in the strong room at the recruitment cell: the first time a malpractice at the cell has come to light.
Candidates who had paid money to touts left most of the questions unanswered in Paper II — 100 multiple choice questions for 150 marks — and it was believed that invigilators at the exam centres filled the OMR sheets after the exam with the correct answers. “However, it has now emerged that the OMR sheets were filled after the papers reached the strong room, compromising the very process of the examination,” a senior official said.
