PSI recruitment scam: Second notice served to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge

Notice was handed over to Congress MLA by a CID officer at Bengaluru airport when he was on his way to Kalaburagi

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the State police has served a second notice to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson and former Minister Priyank Kharge in connection with alleged malpractices in the examination for the recruitment of 545 Police Sub-Inspectors (PSIs).

Speaking to media representatives in Kalaburagi on April 28, the Congress MLA said that the notice was handed over to him by a CID officer at Bengaluru airport when he was on his way to Kalaburagi.

“I have replied to the first notice. The CID, which had issued the notice under Sections 91 and 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), had summoned me to its office and submit evidence pertaining to the PSI recruitment scam. Under the provisions of these Sections, it is not mandatory for me to be present,” Mr. Priyank said asking the CID to extend the investigation beyond Kalaburagi so that more light could be shed on the case and more people, who were involved in the irregularities, could be arrested.

The Congress MLA asked why the CID had not arrested BJP leader Divya Hagaragi (chairperson of Gyan Jyoti English Medium School where exam malpractices were reported), why notices had not been served to Minister Prabhu Chauhan and BJP MLC Sankanur, who had written to the Chief Minister and Home Minister, demanding an investigation into the alleged irregularities.

“Many people from top to bottom appear to have been involved in the case. Instead of going to the bottom of the barrel and nabbing all the culprits, CID is threatening us by issuing notices… We have been transparent in public life, and are committed to the cause of the public. Serving notices to those demanding an impartial investigation and justice to genuine candidates is an attempt to divert public attention from the real culprits,” Mr. Priyank alleged and demanded a court-monitored investigation and the establishment of a fast-track court to hear the case.