Rajasthan: SOG ADG appears in SI recruitment case hearing

Jaipur, July 15 (IANS) Additional Director General (ADG) of the Special Operations Group (SOG), V.K. Singh, appeared before the Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday in connection with the Sub Inspector (SI) Recruitment-2021 case.

During the hearing, Singh informed the court that Babulal Katara, the Chief Examiner of the recruitment process, failed to inform the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) that his relatives were among the candidates appearing for the exam.

Singh revealed that Katara’s relatives - Rahul Katara and Vijay Damor - were directly involved, raising serious concerns about transparency.

Rahul Katara secured the 300th rank, while Vijay Damor cleared the written exam but failed the physical test.

Justice Sameer Jain, who is hearing the matter, questioned the ADG directly, asking, “Did you not consider the impact on candidates who may have left their government jobs to join this recruitment, before recommending its cancellation?”

In response, ADG Singh said that out of the 53 trainee SIs caught, 10 were already in government service. Among these trainee SIs, there were several ex-servicemen too.

He argued that it cannot be assumed that just because someone left a previous government job, they would not engage in malpractice.

This exchange comes against the backdrop of arguments presented on Monday by the counsel representing the selected candidates. They highlighted that a surprise test conducted by SOG on March 19, 2024, showed that only 50 candidates failed, and therefore, the entire recruitment process should not be scrapped.

In response, the court had summoned ADG Singh to provide a detailed explanation regarding the findings of the investigation.

The revelations have added further complexity to the ongoing legal proceedings, as the court weighs the extent of malpractice against the fairness owed to candidates who cleared the recruitment legitimately.

--IANS

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