Jaipur: In a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the 2021 sub-inspector recruitment exam paper leak case, the Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested a head constable and his son late Friday night.The accused cop, Rajkumar Yadav and his son Bharat Yadav, were subsequently remanded to police custody until Aug 12 by a city court on Saturday. Rajkumar, who previously served as the personal security officer (PSO) to former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, allegedly provided the leaked exam paper to at least three candidates, including his son Bharat.While Bharat managed to clear the written examination, he was unsuccessful in the physical test, said SOG officials.Sources revealed that Rajkumar continued his role as Gehlot’s PSO even after the BJP came to power in Rajasthan. He has also served as the PSO for former cabinet minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, who switched over from Congress to BJP prior to 2024 Lok Sabha polls.In a statement on social media platform X, Gehlot commented on the arrests, saying, “It has come to light through the media that a head constable of Jaipur Police Line deployed for my security and his son have been detained by the SOG. If any person is involved in any crime, the law should do its job. I hope that the SOG will investigate this case without any pressure and reach a logical conclusion.”The investigation has unveiled a broader network of corruption, with head constable Rajkumar allegedly having ties to ex-minister Malviya’s former personal secretary, Kundan Kumar Pandya, who is accused of obtaining the leaked exam paper from Babulal Katara, a suspended member of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC). Pandya was arrested by the SOG on June 5 and RPSC member Katara is currently in jail in relation to the same case.The SOG’s probe into the high-profile recruitment exam leak has already led to the arrest of 120 individuals, including 54 sub-inspectors.Additional director general of SOG VK Singh stated that head constable Rajkumar had access to the pre-exam question set, which he distributed to candidates for monetary gain. Among those who allegedly received the leaked paper were Satyendra Singh Yadav and Ravindra Saini, who secured merit ranks 12 and 156, respectively, in the 2021 SI exam.In response to the allegations of the paper leak that emerged during the exam, the Rajasthan govt initiated an investigation by the SOG. A cabinet sub-committee was also formed to deliberate whether to cancel the recruitment exam but the govt reported to the high court that the investigation was ongoing, making it impractical to annul the exam recruitment process at this stage.
