Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Thursday declared that the Rajasthan government is treating the emergence of "new facts" in the state's paper leak scandals and corruption within the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) with utmost seriousness. The announcement came during a high-level review meeting focused on these lingering issues from the previous administration.
High-Level Review and Directive for Strict Action
In a meeting attended by Chief Secretary V Srinivas, Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar Sharma, and senior officials from the Special Operations Group (SOG), CM Sharma directed authorities to take stringent action against the guilty. An official government statement released after the meeting confirmed these instructions, emphasizing a zero-tolerance stance. However, the statement did not specify the exact nature of the newly uncovered information.
The "New Facts" and ED Probe Connection
When questioned about the details, two independent sources pointed to recent media reports based on an ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation. The ED probe reportedly claims that arrested former RPSC member Babu Lal Katara allegedly paid money to secure his appointment to the commission in the first place. This revelation has cast a fresh spotlight on the systemic corruption that may have allowed paper leaks to flourish.
This development also brings attention back to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed within the SOG two years ago to probe these cases. Despite extensive interrogation of Katara in connection with the 2022 senior teacher exam (REET) and the 2021 sub-inspector (SI) exam paper leak cases, the SIT could not independently verify whether he paid any kickbacks for his post.
Unanswered Questions and Absent "Mastermind"
The situation raises critical questions about the prior investigation's scope, which largely focused on beneficiaries but stopped short of fixing responsibility higher up the chain of command. Furthermore, if the central agency (ED) has indeed established these new facts, it remains unclear why Katara did not disclose them during the SIT's prolonged questioning.
While CM Sharma reiterated that "not a single guilty person will be spared," this assurance contrasts with the continued absence of Suresh Dhaka. The SOG itself has described Dhaka as a "mastermind" in both the senior teacher and sub-inspector exam leak cases, yet he remains at large.
In a significant move, the government also announced it will now involve the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the paper leak investigations. The ACB's exclusion from all previous paper leak probes has prompted further scrutiny, leading to questions about whether public officials were involved and if the government was aware of these facts earlier.
