BSF commandant arrested in J-K sub-inspectors' recruitment scam case sent to 10-day CBI remand
Jammu (PTI): A Border Security Force (BSF) medical officer arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of sub-inspectors was sent to 10-day CBI remand by a local court here, officials said.
The CBI on Tuesday arrested BSF Commandant (Medical), Karnail Singh, for allegedly using touts to get his son the question paper of the police sub-inspectors' recruitment examination, conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB), officials had said on Wednesday.
The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Amarjeet Singh on Wednesday sent him to 10 days in remand, the officials added.
The CJM, after going through the case diary, maintained that the investigation was at an initial stage and granted the investigating agency's prayer seeking remand of the accused.
The arrest of Singh, posted at BSF's Paloura Headquarters, brings the number of arrested persons in the scam to nine. While five persons are in judicial lock-up till October 29, three others have been sent to jail till October 21.
The question paper was allegedly provided to Singh early in the morning on the day of the examination, March 27, at a house in Gangyal in Jammu. It is alleged that some other candidates also got the leaked question paper at Singh's residence just a few hours before the examination.
Investigations have revealed that the alleged payment of Rs 20-Rs 30 lakh was made by willing candidates and their families to the accused for accessing the question paper before the examination, the CBI said.
The CBI had conducted two rounds of raids at multiple locations in connection with the question paper leak.
The probe agency has also named Avinash Gupta, owner of a coaching center in Akhnoor in Jammu district, and a Bengaluru-based company in its FIR, the officials said.
Singh, who was called in for questioning by the CBI, did not cooperate with the investigation, prompting the agency to arrest him, sources said.
His wife and his daughter, however, claimed that Singh was innocent and said he was not involved in any scam.
The J&K administration cancelled the police sub-inspector recruitment in July following allegations of irregularities and recommended a CBI probe.
"The results were declared on 04.06.2022. There were allegations regarding malpractice in the examination. The Jammu and Kashmir government had constituted an inquiry committee to look into the same," the CBI had said in a statement following searches on August 5.
"It was alleged that the accused entered into a conspiracy amongst officials of the JKSSB, Bengaluru-based private company, beneficiary candidates and others, and caused gross irregularities in conduct of written examination for the posts of sub-inspectors," it had said.
The inquiry report showed that there was an "abnormally high percentage" of candidates who were selected from Jammu, Rajouri and Samba districts, the agency had said.
"Violation of rules by JKSSB was allegedly found in assigning the task of setting question paper to a Bengaluru-based private company," it had said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
