After youth protests, ED arrests Chhattisgarh civil services exam body’s ex-chief in paper leak case

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested former Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission chairperson Taman Singh Sonwani in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to irregularities in the state’s 2020 and 2021 civil services examinations, PTI reported.

The development came a day after the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the 2024 Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act, following nationwide protests against the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations. The proposed amendments, which will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, provide for stricter punishments, a two-month investigation deadline and a Special Task Force to probe serious examination-related offences.

In the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission case, the Enforcement Directorate launched its investigation based on a 2024 Central Bureau of Investigation first information report. The FIR was registered following a complaint by the Chhattisgarh Police after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state in 2023.

Sonwani was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2024.

On Saturday, he was taken into custody in Raipur by the Enforcement Directorate after being questioned, PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying. They alleged that he was “evasive” in his replies.

The agency alleged that Sonwani leaked question papers and manipulated selections in exchange for bribes, favouring his relatives and candidates who paid money.

It also claimed...

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