After the infamous merit scam in the intermediate examinations Bihar is witnessing yet another big scandal in the exam of Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) to fill 13,000 vacancies of clerical jobs.
The scandal came to fore following the leakage of question papers of the two subjects and their answers a day before the examination which went viral. The entire exam has been cancelled and at the behest of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a Special Investigating Team (SIT) was set up which has arrested several suspected people including the BSSC secretary Parmeshwar Ram.
Ram told SIT headed by Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj that he was just a pawn in this scandal and revealed 36 big names including Ministers, high profile politicians and senior bureaucrats. He also disclosed that in the past five years most of the recruitments witnessed crores of rupees changing hands and the wards of many politicians and bureaucrats had been recruited. The BSSC clears appointment of grade III non-gazetted clerks. Ram told the team, “You are thrashing only a pawn. If you have guts catch the real kingpin who had been directing us.”
Sources said Ram disclosed names of seven Ministers, 29 legislators and nine IAS officials who he claimed were directly or indirectly involved in this recruitment scam. Ram, now suspended, was appointed BSSC secretary by then CM Jitan Ram Manjhi in 2014.
The question papers and answers had been supplied through WhatsApp to students and each had been asked to pay Rs 5 lakh and half of the promised money had been paid. It is expected that about 500 students and the scam involved about Rs 50 crore.
The SIT also arrested director of AVN School Ramashish Rai and manager Ramsumer, a loco pilot Alok Ranjan from Patna Junction, director of ITI, Bihta Nitin Kumar, owner of a coaching institute Rameshwar and a student Kaushal Kumar. SIT chief Maharaaj said the question papers and answers had been leaked from AVN School which was also centre for the examination.
Ramsumer said he had leaked the question paper at the instruction of School director Rai who runs this school in the name of his wife Malti Singh.
Meanwhile, the CAG in its latest report pointed out several financial irregularities in BSSC. It included non deposit of examination fee to the tune of Rs 71.85 crore in the state exchequer including postal orders worth Rs 1.92 crore. This amount has not even been entered in the cash book. These irregularities were detected during 2012 and 2016.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi however said the scandal involved no less than Rs 200 crore and the nexus of politicians and bureaucrats was visible. “The kingpins of topper scam and recruitment scam are directly linked to CM Nitish Kumar and RJD chief lalu Prasad,” Modi alleged and claimed that one accused Ramashish Rai was bailer of lalu in one of fodder scam cases. Rai, he said, was only a typist in the science and technology department but now running a school which was derecognized by CBSE still exam centre had been opened there. Modi also demanded that all the names disclosed by BSSC secretary should be made public.