The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Rajasthan Public Service Commission member Babulal Katara and an alleged broker, Anil Kumar Meena, in connection with a case involving the leak of a question paper of a teachers’ recruitment examination in 2022. A special court in Jaipur has remanded the two accused in the ED’s custody for three days.
Both Mr. Katara and Mr. Meena were arrested on Friday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED had launched an investigation into the case after taking it over from Rajasthan police. The case pertains to the leak of the general knowledge paper of the exam for recruitment of grade II senior teachers, conducted by the RPSC between December 21 and 24, 2022.
The Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan police had claimed that Mr. Katara had demanded and received a bribe of ₹60 lakh for leaking the paper to a mafia involved in supplying question papers to the candidates. Mr. Meena allegedly supplied the paper through his syndicate to the candidates for ₹8 to 10 lakh each.
The ED said in a statement that it had conducted a search at 15 premises of the accused persons on June 5, resulting in the recovery of incriminating documents and digital records. The ED has also provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹3.11 crore belonging to Mr. Katara, Mr. Meena and others through an attachment order of August 18.
The SOG had arrested Mr. Katara, his nephew and his driver in connection with the case in April this year, after which they obtained bail. The Anti-Corruption Bureau of Rajasthan police had also registered a case of disproportionate assets against Mr. Katara earlier this month.
The Opposition BJP in the State has been demanding an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into all cases of paper leaks. The teachers’ recruitment exam was cancelled after the leaked paper was widely shared on social media platforms before its commencement.
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