A criminal conspiracy to rig the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) 14th Civil Services Examination was initiated nearly nine months before the formal test notification was issued, according to a chargesheet filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). While the commission released the official recruitment notice in January 2026, an organized syndicate had already begun operating in March 2025 to collect substantial sums from candidates and manipulate the examination machinery. By May 2025, the commission had empanelled TDPL, an external agency chosen to handle sensitive examination-related responsibilities. The CID chargesheet names former JPSC chairman L. Khiangte, deputy examination controller Shweta Kumari Gupta, Sonu Kumar, Braj Kumar Ram, and several intermediaries, accusing them of colluding to select a vendor with questionable credentials and attempting to destroy digital evidence by formatting mobile phones and laptops to obstruct the investigation.
Cash Agreements and Vendor Selection Finalised at Closed Meetings
The CID investigation established that the foundational pact was brokered in March 2025 after Abhay Tiwari, Ravi Shankar alias Ravi Master, and Dharmendra arranged an introduction between TDPL director Rambir Singh and the then JPSC chairman at the latter’s official residence. Dharmendra, described in the chargesheet as a trusted associate of the former chairman who worked at the residential office of the Chief Secretary, secured the meeting after receiving 50,000 rupees in cash from Tiwari. Ahead of the company’s formal presentation before the recruitment body, a confidential meeting was convened at a prominent hotel involving the then chairman, Rambir Singh, Satyapal, and Sanand Prakash. Investigators stated that the terms governing TDPL’s engagement were finalised during this session, after which the firm’s file was transferred to deputy examination controller Shweta Kumari Gupta with specific instructions to expedite empanelment. The deal allegedly included a 2-crore-rupee cash payment and a fixed commission calculated on the company’s billing, with financial transactions routed through physical cash, Unified Payments Interface channels, and Real Time Gross Settlement transfers.
Examination Network Extended to Multiple State Recruitments
The chargesheet details that the fraudulent syndicate operated far beyond the 14th Civil Services Preliminary Examination, extending its operations across the 11th, 12th, and 13th Civil Services tests. The probe found that the group also intervened in selections for the Child Development Project Officer, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Forest Range Officer, and Fire Station Officer cadres. Intermediaries including Abhay Kumar Tiwari, Ravi Shankar, Sanjeet Kumar, Sanand Prakash, and Lalu Yadav allegedly collected crores of rupees from aspiring candidates in exchange for illicit institutional assistance. Investigators identified multiple beneficiaries of this arrangement, including Arvind Kumar, Saurabh Suman, Roshan Kerketta, Umakant Oraon, Pankaj Prasoon, Mukesh Sahu, Ritik Roshan, Manoj Kumar, Akshay Kumar Tiwari, Sushma Kumari, Dilip Kumar, Om Prakash Rana, Arvind Kumar Yadav, and Gopal Kumar.
Mains Answer Sheets Removed and Completed Outside Examination Centres
The CID uncovered evidence indicating that answer sheets for the Mains examination were physically transported outside examination halls to be completed in unauthorized locations before being handed back for evaluation. This mechanism was used to guarantee qualifying marks for designated candidates, bypassing standard procedural oversight. The investigating agency is tracing the individuals who facilitated the physical removal of scripts, the administrative lapses that allowed the breach to proceed unnoticed, and the complete paper trail behind the illicit payments.
