The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested former Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission chairperson Taman Singh Sonwani in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to irregularities in the state’s 2020 and 2021 civil services examinations, PTI reported.
The development came a day after the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the 2024 Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act, following nationwide protests against the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations. The proposed amendments, which will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, provide for stricter punishments, a two-month investigation deadline and a Special Task Force to probe serious examination-related offences.
In the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission case, the Enforcement Directorate launched its investigation based on a 2024 Central Bureau of Investigation first information report. The FIR was registered following a complaint by the Chhattisgarh Police after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state in 2023.
Sonwani was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2024.
On Saturday, he was taken into custody in Raipur by the Enforcement Directorate after being questioned, PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying. They alleged that he was “evasive” in his replies.
The agency alleged that Sonwani leaked question papers and manipulated selections in exchange for bribes, favouring his relatives and candidates who paid money.
It also claimed that the commission’s recruitment rules were amended in 2021 to remove the word “nephew” from the definition of family, allegedly to facilitate the appointment of his relatives.
The agency said that part of the alleged bribe money was laundered through a family-controlled society in the guise of corporate social responsibility donations for a “non-existent” college, PTI reported. It alleged that about Rs 45 lakh was routed through this way by a private company in return for securing the selection of two deputy collectors.
Alleged main accused in Maharashtra teacher exam paper leak held
The police in Maharashtra have arrested the alleged prime accused of the state Teacher Eligibility Test paper leak case from Bihar, The Hindu reported on Saturday. Brijendra Gupta was taken into custody along with another person.
On June 27, the Maharashtra government postponed the Teacher Eligibility Test 2026 after parts of the question paper were allegedly leaked a day before the examination. Around six lakh candidates were affected.
The Maharashtra Special Task Force and the Special Investigation Team probing the case had raided a cyber cafe in Bihar’s Vaishali district on July 1. Three persons, including the cafe operator, Sonu Kumar, were detained and questioned. The probe reportedly found a link between Gupta and Kumar.
Earlier, the police had arrested Pawan Kumar from Delhi and Hariom Panu from Haryana, alleging that both were Gupta’s associates.
On July 1, a joint team of the Bihar Special Task Force and the Bhiwandi Police from Maharashtra’s Thane district also arrested Gupta’s wife, Suman Kumari, from Patna, PTI reported. It was alleged that call records and financial transactions linked her to the paper leak conspiracy.
Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.
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