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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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
