On November 10, 2022, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted a search operation in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at 11 locations in Bengaluru and Patiala, including Amrit Paul’s residence (the then-ADG recruitment cell) and the residences of other government officials and private individuals involved in the PSI Recruitment 2021 Scam. This resulted in the discovery and seizure of numerous incriminating documents and electronic devices.
In order to fill 545 Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) positions in the Karnataka Police Department in 2021, the Karnataka Police Recruitment Cell held an examination. Following the release of the results, claims of fraud and unethical behaviour in the aforementioned test surfaced, prompting the Karnataka government to conduct an inquiry.
Accordingly, a number of FIRs were filed against applicants, middlemen, and police officers who were implicated in the anomalies found in the PSI Recruitment Examination of 2021 in Bangalore and Kalaburagi. These FIRs were then forwarded to CID for further investigation. Amrit Paul, an IPS, and almost 100 other people have been detained in this matter after searches were conducted at many locations.
The OMR sheet was found to have been tampered with during the CID inquiry in the strong room of the recruitment cell at CID Hqrs, Carlton House, Bangalore. Police officers in charge of the recruitment cell’s strong room turned off the CCTV there before 2-Armed Head Constables arrived and tampered with the OMR sheet. In addition, police officers demanded payment from candidates for using unlawful tactics to facilitate their selection.
ED has filed an ECIR dated 04-08-2022 for the alleged crime of money laundering based on the FIRs. This office was able to recover and seize numerous incriminating documents and electronic devices during the search operation. Further research is currently being conducted.
