PSI Exam scam: DySP, circle inspector held

The CID sleuths on Thursday arrested Lingsugur DySP in Raichur district and a Kalaburagi division fingerprint bureau CPI for their alleged involvement in the PSI recruitment scam.

They thoroughly grilled Mallikarjun Saali, the DySP, and Anand Metri, the CPI, before arresting them. They produced the two before the magistrate after a medical examination at the district hospital.

The court remanded them in the CID custody till May 12.

DySP’s blackmail

The officers are facing the charge of assisting Rudragouda D Patil, the prime suspect, in facilitating PSI job aspirants to use Bluetooth devices at an examination hall.

It is said that the DySP collected Rs 10 lakh from Divya Hagaragi, the president of an English medium school in Kalaburagi, Rudragouda D Patil, the prime suspect and Irrigation Department assistant executive engineer Manjunath Melkundi not to disclose anything regarding the irregularities, according to sources.

The CPI was given the responsibility to conduct the endurance test to recruit special constables for the KSRP. He conducted the running race competition for 70 posts two days ago. He was relieved from all responsibilities after his name was linked to the scam, according to sources.

Based on a senior officer’s directions, Metri was not arrested either from his office or house to avoid embarrassment to the department.

Meanwhile, the sleuths recovered two mobile phones from a retired DySP in Kalaburagi and sent them to a forensic sciences laboratory for a report. He is likely to be questioned based on the report.

Patil’s statement that ‘some leaders in the district were with him’ has sent some leaders of the Congress and the BJP into a tizzy. Their efforts to reach out to Patil requesting him not to disclose their names failed as the sleuths did not permit anyone to meet Patil.

Family denies charges

Sobagaiah, the father of Nagesh Gowda, an in-service constable in Bagalkot, ranked 10th in the provisional selection list, alleged that his family was linked with Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and the scam for political reasons.

“We are in no way connected with Ashwath Narayan. Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah is using our family’s name for votes. He doesn’t even know who Nagesh Gowda is. My son has been preparing for competitive exams for the last six years,” Sobagaiah told reporters at Chikkamavattur in Kunigal taluk, Tumakuru district.

He added,”My son was serving as a constable in Davanagere. He was transferred to Bagalkot and appeared for the exams. We haven’t paid money to anybody. We are dependent on farming.”