Recruitment scam: KAS officer 'discharged' from service

The State government has initiated action against KAS officer Asha Parveen in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) appointment scam, for which  consecutive state governments have come under criticism from the High Court.

She is the first official against whom the government has taken action in connection with the alleged scam.

The government order dated September 17, 2013, a copy of which is with Deccan Herald, states that “the government, using provisions under Rule-6 of the KPSC (Probation) Rules, 1977, has ‘discharged’ Parveen from government service with immediate effect.”

The rules are clear that ‘discharge’ does not mean termination or dismissal, which will remove the officer’s name from the service records, denying them all the benefits. To terminate or dismiss such officers, the government will have to use provisions under the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which has submitted a report on the scam, has found that Parveen, a KAS officer of the 1998 batch had allegely submitted a bogus 2B certificate. Incidentally, she was suspended from service while she was the tahsildar of K R Puram in Bangalore for other reasons.

The investigating agency has found that no such certificate was issued to her on the claimed date (March 28, 1996) and with that particular number. Criminal cases have been registered in this regard.

CID probe

The High Court, which is hearing a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in KPSC appointments had ordered a CID probe into the matter. The KPSC had appointed as many as 383 candidates in 1998; 191 in 1999 and 152 in 2004 as Group A and B officers.

On informing the matter to Khaleel Ahmed, the main petitioner in the High Court, he said: “This is only a trick by the government as the matter is coming up for hearing before the High Court tomorrow (Friday). There are many more people against whom action needs to be initiated, she has become a scapegoat.”

Documents attached to the order read that after the CID investigation, the government has found her to be ‘unsuitable’ for service.